Making Change Together: How communities are leading the way to a sustainable city

In the heart of inner-city Sydney, a new kind of sustainability movement is taking root – one powered not by policy or profit, but by people. 

Through the Community-led Sustainable Cities project, the UTS Social Impact Lab has been working alongside residents, community leaders and local organisations in Glebe, Ultimo, Haymarket , and Pyrmont to reimagine what sustainability looks like when it starts from the ground up. 

Rather than beginning with top-down targets, the project began with listening to lived experience, local knowledge, and the quiet leadership already at work in these neighbourhoods. 

More than 120 residents took part in storytelling sessions, workshops, and co-design activities that surfaced the values, aspirations and everyday actions shaping sustainable living in the inner city. 

From listening to leadership 

The year-long collaboration revealed three community priorities: sustainable food, waste reduction, and climate resilience.  

UTS Social Impact Lab provided seed funding and mentorship to turn these priorities into grassroot initiatives.  

In Glebe, over a period of nine months, social housing tenants transformed a neglected rooftop into a thriving community garden through 11 engagement events involving 160+ attendees. The project helped reclaim a space once associated with antisocial behaviour and was recognised in NSW Parliament as ‘a fantastic example of sustainable solutions in our urban areas.’ 

In Ultimo, a group of retired residents from Chinese and Hong Kong diaspora communities led two bilingual clothing swaps and a hands-on sewing workshop, bringing generations and cultures together to tackle fashion waste. Across both swaps, 120 people participated and more than 300 garments were reused, with zero waste sent to landfill. Beyond environmental outcomes, the social impact was clear. As one attendee shared, ‘A fantastic initiative – the cross-cultural interaction was wonderful,’ while another reflected, ‘It was incredibly rewarding for the community.’ 

Also in Glebe, a small group of locals led two Community Climate Forums, bringing together more than 85 residents, experts and advocates to explore practical, place-based responses to climate change. Together, these forums laid the foundations for the Inner Sydney Community Climate Action Network (now a member of the Climate Action Network Australia). Participants described how the conversations ‘fed off each other’, with one attendee saying they felt ‘encouraged by everyone’s commitment’, and others reflected that connecting around a shared issue ‘deepens connection.’ 

Each project was small in scale but big in spirit, showing how with the right scaffolding – time, trust and modest resourcing – local ideas can have a lasting impact. 

‘The capacity to lead was already there,’ said project co-lead Joey Shaw. ‘Our role was simply to connect the dots – to help people use the strengths and relationships already within their community.’ 

Art, storytelling, and systems change 

Art and storytelling were at the heart of the project, culminating in a collective artwork, A sustainable Story of Change for our neighbourhood, that brought community hopes and challenges to life. 

These creative approaches helped make complex issues tangible and inclusive, allowing residents from diverse cultural and social backgrounds to engage meaningfully in imagining their future city. 

‘Art gave everyone a way in,’ said visual artist and UTS Senior Lecturer, Dr Pat Grant. ‘It turned abstract systems into something personal and real.’ 

Universities as neighbours 

The project also demonstrates how universities can act as true anchor institutions – not just places of learning, but partners in community transformation. 

Through the Social Impact Lab, UTS contributed research expertise, student volunteers, and, crucially, a commitment to redistributing power. 

‘UTS didn’t come in with the answers. They listened, they stayed, and they built trust,’ said one community partner. ‘That’s what made people want to be involved.’ 

‘This project showed what happens when universities stop talking at communities and start working with them,’ said project co-lead Dr. Kathleen Blair. ’It’s slower, it’s messier, but it’s also where the most meaningful change happens.’ 

Where traditional engagement might extract community knowledge for academic purposes, this model flips the script: community members are co-researchers, co-designers and decision-makers.

‘UTS has really embedded its brand locally,’ one community leader reflected. ‘They’ve made things happen because they’re part of the community, not apart from it.’

The road ahead 

All three community projects have continued beyond their initial funding, with new partnerships and activities already emerging.  
To share what they’ve learned, the Social Impact Lab has published a practical toolkit – Making Change Together – offering step-by-step guidance for practitioners and communities who want to replicate the model. 

The work has shown that building sustainable cities isn’t just about infrastructure – it’s about relationships, equity, and shared leadership. 

‘Change doesn’t have to be imposed from the top,’ said Nick Grinpukel, co-lead of the project. ‘When people are trusted to lead, the impact can be extraordinary.’