ReSpace x ReRoute's 'Circular Neighbourhoods’ Conference

Can reuse reclaim your neighbourhood?

Is your neighbourhood a 'circular economy'?

How can you best invest in community and the environment?

What does sustainbility mean to you?

As part of Re-London’s Circular Economy Week 2024, two grassroots reuse projects in Newham & Hackney (scroll down for bios) are coming together to host ½ a day of discussion around the ways in which we can direct the positive impacts of circular economies and environmental practices towards those communities who need it most.

Panels // Talks // Exhibition // Tours // Stalls from local community groups and businesses

TIMETABLE (Full speaker line-up TBC):

09:45 - Refreshments & Networking

10:00 - OPENING ADDRESS: the vision of a more caring future, ReSpace Projects x Hackney Wick and Fish Island Community Development Trust.

10:15 - PANEL #1: Circular Neighbourhoods

• Who benefits from the Circular Economy?
• Can it meet the needs of local neighbourhoods?
• Cross-borough sharing systems
• Tech to aid resource-sharing

11:00 - TALK: the truth about ESG Investment (Environmental, Social, and Governance) w/ Gee Sinha, director of ReSpace Projects

11:15 - SHORT BREAK

11:30 - PANEL #2: Social Sustainability

• Where do the notions of care and well-being fit into circular economy architectures?
• How can we re-use empty space to solve social issues?
• Are ‘care hubs’ and grassroots community spaces required to solve local issues and ensure equitable distribution of wealth?

12:15 - Mayor of Hackney speech about the borough’s ‘Circular Economy Zone’ and the

introduction of Hackney’s Circular Economy Strategy and Action Plan, followed by a discussion.

13:15 - Closing notes and further discussion - where do we go from here?

13:30 - Finish OR *optional tours of selected studios at The Loop

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Conference co-organised by:

is an organisation that, for over a decade, has been setting up mutual aid hubs across the UK - reusing empty space and otherwise-wasted resources for social good. This work has created a ‘respacing’ model that identifies, creates and connects a network of community-led and topical spaces that are self-sustaining and collaboratively managed.

Their current focus is in Silvertown, Newham where they recently won a tender to manage the reconstruction of The Tate Institute, a beloved social club built in 1887 for the workers of The Tate & Lyle Factory next door, which had closed in the early 2000s after falling into disrepair. The initiative’s mission is to turn this derelict building into a living, breathing human enterprise zone for locals, creatives and entrepreneurs; all done in a ground-breaking sustainable way utilising the respacing methodology.

is the Hackney Wick and Fish Island Community Development Trust’s (HWFI CDT) focused work on the circular economy. The HWFI CDT is a community-led organisation with a purpose to secure buildings and spaces for the community for the long-term, to preserve the social fabric of the area. All ReRoute projects are designed by local people and businesses in HWFI and are aimed at tackling climate change by coordinating local action and working together.

So far, they have delivered two major projects in this space: The Loop (Hackney’s first circular economy hub) and a Textile Reuse Hub which includes our Sustainable Young Makers Programme.

Host or Publisher ReSpace Projects