Cofounder & Executive Director at Makespace Oxford; cofounder at Transition by Design; an infrequent flyer on social media. Thoughts are my own, etc. etc.
Through @makespaceoxford we're working hard to bring about more affordable space for community groups - unlocking empty buildings to celebrate, support and connect groups making, fixing, creating and taking on the big social justice issues of our times
"#Oxford is one of the least affordable cities in the UK to live, to buy a house, to obtain a space of any kind." Andy Edwards is the Cofounder of @makespaceoxford, which repurposes empty & underused buildings into affordable, community-driven workspaces 🏘️♻️🏚️🌱 #HousingCrisis
While #Madleen must be released immediately, every Mediterranean port should send boats with aid, solidarity, and humanity to Gaza. They shall sail together—united, they will be unstoppable.
#BreakingTheSiege is a legal duty for states, and a moral imperative for all of us.
📣 Job!
We’re looking for someone who wants to grow a thing: help local authorities to adopt digital planning tools & services that make planning simpler, for everyone.
Come and join a brilliant team, working on making stuff better, at scale.
https://t.co/jTT4B7tzeP
The point is dismantling the idea of land ownership entirely, not just having more ‘communities’ owning it. A step along the way for that might be getting the freeholds for communities and rewriting the rules yes. But, just stopping at community ownership is just be a new cycle.
Many MPs urged gov't to include rent controls in Renters Rights Bill last week (see https://t.co/mAYHtrtjM6)
But @mtpennycook & @AngelaRayner argued rent controls wld reduce supply of homes
Short🧵w/ data to show this risk is small & can be mitigated, and benefits outweigh costs
What can we learn from our shared history that could inspire solutions to the most urgent challenges facing humanity today?
Explore this with a day of immersive workshops with @KarberryK, @natcphd and @aliyahhasinah, finishing off the day with an evening dinner connecting over what promises to be a rich and inspiring conversation between @indy_johar and author of History for Tomorrow @romankrznaric.
Sign Up: https://t.co/0kDIhxzU1l
#BeyondBooks @CIVIC_SQUARE
🌿 Do you envision a just land system where we can grow good food, have access to affordable housing, & restore our landscapes, rivers & soils?
📣❗Respond to Labour's planning policy consultation today & make your voice heard!
Info & sample answers: https://t.co/y5jhntUuwo
Day 2 - Victory day for Marieha Hussain.
A 🧵 on how day 2 of the trial prosecuting Marieha ended in a resounding victory for her and her defence team, and how the CPS has been shown again to overpolice and prosecute people of colour.
@CAGEintl@nelsabbey@kehinde_andrews
The big day is here ☀️ - join us 6pm for a lively conversation on how we can open up our city & resources to unlock the Just Transition we all need…
With inspiration from the wonderful @CIVIC_SQUARE and local architects @TransitionbyD and organisers Oxford Community Action
The boy made a little library box at
@CIVIC_SQUARE
for the street with
@WeCanMakeHomes
It'll be called THE INCREDIBLE LIBRARY (Allen's Cross). It will hold more than books - toys, the odd cat (!) & lovely things to bless folk in this community. Painting this week. So cool!
This months #RepairCafe is on September 15th @makespaceoxford. We offer a variety of #repairs such as Electrical , Mechanical, sewing and even bike repair. book your slot now https://t.co/qeVkJEW6T0
A bit damper this year, but with even more warmth, heart and ✨ - shout out to @CIVIC_SQUARE for being such fabulous hosts and curators - yesterday was another packed extravaganza of thought provoking talks, discussions, sumptuous music, food, crafts, inspiration and connections!
Just jumping on the train to Brum, soo looking forward to experiencing another B16 extravaganza! I’ll be sharing our work @makespaceoxford alongside an inspirational bunch @ImmyKaur@indy_johar @natcphd on the enticing theme of ‘Neighbourhoods as the Heart of Systems Change’ 💚
Join us at the CIVIC SQUARE site for a week filled with food, play, learning, making, talks and more as we disassemble the research, design principles, material possibilities and more for the Neighbourhood Public Square to organise and prototype together.
https://t.co/rZUgZ2Bu3f
Join me at 11am for the screening of Outgrow the System and workshop, as we open up the convo about our economic system at the scale of our neighbourhoods: what would alternatives look + feel like? what would be happening, how would they operate + how do we move towards that?
If you're ready to steward, iterate and socialise regenerative, distributive-by-design financial systems, as part of an ambitious capital project where many kinds of value are generated and shared, you could be the Financial Systems Lead we're looking for: https://t.co/zjn85oQGiK
#StirToAction is underway! 🎉
Excited to see familiar and new faces today & tomorrow.
Interested in community-powered high streets, & securing & reviving assets for local benefit? 🏘️🌆
Catch us with @stourtrust, @FootworkTrust, @makespaceoxford @ArtspaceUK at 12 and at 2!
@RTrevalyan@Cantalks@stourtrust@rooinspace @makespaceoxford @ArtspaceUK (We missed @peopledemcolle1's Victoria Barrow Williams and know many of you were looking forward to hearing about their amazing work in Margate. Do give them a like and follow: https://t.co/BgrQBw1dyG)
/End 🧵
It’s here at last! So looking forward to joining @platformplaces@stourtrust@FootworkTrust@StirToAction and heaps of other good folks today - exploring how we can unlock our land and High Streets for communities creating the systemic change we urgently need
@makespaceoxford
ONE WEEK TO GO! The ABCs of the New Economy Festival lands in #Bristol on 10-11 July.
👉 https://t.co/Lnrnz2iTWP
+ Provocative panels
+ Interactive workshops
+ Free lunch
+ Augmented reality experience
+ Live music and performance
+ More!
We’ll be sharing our learning from meanwhile Oxfordshire, unlocking 28 buildings, 3,500sqm of empty space, supporting over 100 organisations into affordable space in just 18 months - https://t.co/Uy1cSZzqu2