ABSTRACT
Camberwell Green is probably one of the most resilient green open spaces in any city in the world. One wonders precisely what social vision allowed environmentalist politics to add the final touch to the physical desolation of the unlucky neighbourhood. The social route to sustainability is rather more complex than the environmental route, but it is equally important. The gender issue is particularly germane to the debate about sustainable communities. Many of the local trust members and staff have moved across from the campaigning environmental movement – Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, even no doubt the animal rights movement – to these very local and practical initiatives. The health food shop stands in relation to the new politics as the radical bookshop once stood in relation to earlier pre-occupations with class, race and gender. The key to the success of Groundwork is its recognition of ‘the local’ as the salient value of environmental renewal.
