Sustainable communities are created through collaboration between the people who live in them and the organisations that shape their future.
At ARU, we work with local authorities, businesses, charities, voluntary organisations, public services and community groups to connect university expertise with the needs and ambitions of the places we serve. This ranges from research and community partnerships supporting more sustainable places to cross-sector dialogue about the challenges created by growth, infrastructure and climate change.
In June 2025, for example, ARU's Delivering a Regional Sustainability Vision conference brought together members of the public, community and voluntary organisations, public and private-sector representatives and academics to consider civic participation, green skills and infrastructure, including contributors from Cambridge City Council and Cambridge Carbon Footprint. Through these partnerships, ARU aims to ensure that knowledge generated within the University contributes to more inclusive, resilient and sustainable communities in practice.
Transforming sustainability practices across Europe through SHARED GREEN DEAL
Sustainable communities are created when local people are able to influence the decisions that affect their lives. Through the SHARED GREEN DEAL project, ARU is leading a €5 million European initiative involving 22 organisations and 24 community-based social experiments across Europe. The project works with citizens, local authorities, businesses and community groups to develop practical solutions relating to sustainable mobility, food systems, biodiversity, circular economies and clean energy. Rather than imposing top-down interventions, SHARED GREEN DEAL places communities at the centre of decision-making and helps ensure that sustainability policies reflect local needs and priorities. The project is generating evidence for policymakers while demonstrating how community participation can support the creation of more inclusive, sustainable and resilient places.
Supporting greener communities through tree planting partnerships
Through a partnership with Chelmsford City Council and Love Your Chelmsford, our staff and students have contributed directly to making local parks more attractive, resilient and environmentally valuable. One notable initiative saw volunteers plant 500 trees in a single morning at John Shennan Field in Chelmsford. In another related event, 25 staff and student volunteers worked in Admirals Park to plant over 1,000 native trees on an area of unused grass.
Supporting regional regeneration through ARU Peterborough
ARU Peterborough represents one of the most significant civic partnerships undertaken by the University in recent years. Developed in partnership with local authorities, businesses and regional stakeholders, the campus was created to expand access to higher education in a city with historically low levels of university participation and to support long-term economic regeneration. The campus was completed in 2024 on a former brownfield site and has already received a prestigious Pineapples Award for its contribution to place-making and community benefit.
The Living Lab at ARU Peterborough provides space for exhibitions and events intended to inspire greater engagement with STEM, while links with local libraries, museums and arts venues are intended to help create a broader cultural hub for Peterborough and the surrounding region. By opening specialist university infrastructure to the wider community, ARU connects its investment in science and technology with regional opportunity and public engagement.
Protecting cultural heritage and strengthening community identity
Through our internationally recognised StoryLab centre, we work with communities around the world to preserve cultural heritage, strengthen community identity and support cultural participation. Projects include the €3 million Horizon 2020-funded REVIVE project, which uses digital technologies to preserve European linguistic and cultural heritage, and Let's Go Fly the Kite, which supports residents in Cambridge's historic Kite district in documenting local history and creating living archives. By working directly with communities to preserve stories, traditions and local knowledge, ARU helps ensure that cultural heritage remains accessible to future generations while strengthening local identity and civic pride.
Working with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities to widen participation
ARU has taken a leading role in supporting communities that remain significantly underrepresented in higher education and wider public life. Through our commitment to the Gypsies, Travellers, Roma, Showmen and Boaters (GTRSB) into Higher Education Pledge, we work directly with schools, community organisations and families to improve educational opportunities and increase participation. In 2024, we hosted dedicated campus visits across Cambridge, Chelmsford and Peterborough for young people from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. These activities help participants experience university life, explore progression pathways and build confidence in accessing higher education. The programme builds upon ARU's extensive research expertise in these communities and contributes to long-term efforts to reduce educational inequalities and strengthen community inclusion.
Working with Essex County Council to strengthen communities
We've developed an extensive partnership with Essex County Council that combines research, education and community engagement to address local challenges. One particularly strong recent example is the launch of the Essex Early Years Nourishing Our Future Award in 2025. Developed jointly by Essex County Council and ARU researchers, the initiative supports early years providers in creating healthier food environments for children and families. The programme was designed in response to research undertaken by ARU's School of Education and provides practical resources, training and support to childcare providers across Essex. By translating research into action, the partnership is helping improve health outcomes for young children while strengthening community wellbeing throughout the county.
Improving community safety through local partnerships
Through SHoKE (Students at the Heart of Knowledge Exchange), students at ARU have contributed directly to initiatives designed to improve safety and inclusion within local communities. Working with Essex Police, Essex County Council and Chelmsford City Council, students supported a £20,000 Safer Streets project focused on reducing violence against women and girls. Students proposed practical changes in behaviour, communication and engagement that could help create safer public spaces. By combining academic expertise with lived community experience, these partnerships generate evidence and ideas that directly inform local service delivery and community safety interventions.
Improving health and wellbeing through Social Spark
Students working through one of our SHoKE initiatives were involved in the Social Spark project in Basildon, worked with local partners to strengthen community health and wellbeing. The project trained 24 local residents in community organising, helping create a network of organisations working together to improve access to healthcare, employability support and wider community services. By building local capacity and strengthening collaboration between organisations, the project contributed to more joined-up support for residents while empowering communities to shape solutions to local challenges.
Creating safer communities for women and girls
Through a partnership with Essex Police, Essex County Council and Chelmsford City Council, SHoKE students contributed to a £20,000 Safer Streets initiative aimed at reducing violence against women and girls. Students worked with partners to develop ideas for changing behaviours and attitudes, helping identify practical actions that could improve safety in public spaces. The project demonstrates how students can contribute fresh perspectives and evidence-informed solutions to important community safety challenges.
Supporting democratic participation
SHoKE has also helped strengthen civic engagement among young people. Working alongside Citizens UK and local authority elections teams in Cambridge and Chelmsford, students organised voter registration activities that enabled 120 students to register to vote, helping many participate in democratic processes for the first time. By encouraging political engagement and active citizenship, the initiative contributed to building more inclusive and participatory communities.
Air quality based green routing to instil citizen behaviour changes
Through the Air Quality Based Green Routing to Instil Citizen Behaviour Changes project, researchers from ARU worked with Colchester Borough Council to compare air pollution levels along parallel cycling and driving routes in Cambridge and Colchester. Using measurements of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), the team created interactive pollution maps showing that routes passing through parks and green spaces consistently had lower pollution levels than roads dominated by traffic.
Rather than simply studying air quality, the project tested how environmental information can be used to influence behaviour. By making pollution data publicly accessible through interactive heatmaps, the research encouraged residents to choose cleaner and more sustainable travel routes, supporting both public health and climate action. The findings demonstrate how evidence-based interventions can help citizens make more sustainable choices, contributing to reduced transport emissions and more responsible patterns of consumption.
Last updated: October 2026
To request additions, corrections or changes to the information in these pages, please contact: Dr Zareen Bharucha: [email protected]. Please use the subject line ‘ARU SDG’.