Participatory Green Futures: Co-creating inclusive and resilient neighbourhoods through cultural participation (PULSE)

The green transition is one of Europe’s most important societal challenges. While efforts are being made at the policy-level, environmental and climate objectives cannot be achieved through technological innovation or top-down approaches alone. The transition also depends on people’s willingness and ability to participate in shaping sustainable futures in the places where they live. However, environmental investments and climate policies do not always benefit everyone equally. Some residents may feel excluded from decision-making, see few benefits in their own neighbourhoods, or feel that changes are happening without their involvement. As a result, tensions may emerge between policy ambitions and everyday realities, undermining trust and public support for the transition.

PULSE responds to this challenge by recognising that the green transition is not only an environmental and economic transformation, but a social and cultural one. The project posits that cultural participation can play a crucial role in strengthening the social fabric, fostering civic engagement, and supporting inclusive forms of climate action. PULSE views cultural participation as a shared community resource that can strengthen belonging, resilience, and participation in local change. Through cultural and creative activities, people can express concerns, share experiences, imagine alternative futures, and collectively negotiate responses to environmental and social change. Thus, cultural participation can help bridge the gap between sustainability goals and citizens’ lived experiences.

The project has four interconnected objectives. First, it seeks to improve understanding of how cultural participation can strengthen the social fabric in neighbourhoods. Second, it develops and tests new methods for increasing civic engagement in the green transition, particularly among populations that are often underrepresented. Third, it generates evidence on the social and ecological effects of cultural participation to support public authorities and policymakers. Finally, it develops practical strategies, governance tools, and policy guidance to strengthen the role of cultural and creative sectors in participatory neighbourhood transitions.

PULSE is organised around six interconnected pilots in three neighbourhoods across Europe: Poble-sec in Barcelona (Spain), Bridges ward in Gateshead (UK), and Nekala-Viinikka in Tampere (Finland). Each neighbourhood faces a different combination of social, economic, and environmental challenges, making it possible to explore how the green transition is experienced in different European contexts. The first set of pilots examines how ecological change and the green transition influence people's everyday lives, their connections to their neighbourhood, their relationships with other residents, and their views of the future. The second set of pilots introduces arts-based and cultural interventions that are developed in response to local histories, cultures, and community needs in each pilot site. These activities will be designed to create spaces for dialogue and explore how cultural participation can function as a form of climate action that is socially embedded, meaningful, and democratically engaged.

PULSE complements these neighbourhood pilots with comparative research, including a large-scale cross-national survey conducted across five European countries. This enables the project to generate evidence about the broader conditions under which cultural participation can strengthen civic engagement, social fabric, and support for the green transition. Thus, PULSE addresses a recognised European knowledge gap concerning the relationship between culture, democracy, and the social fabric.
 

Evidence generated through the pilots and surveys will be translated into practical outputs, including participatory mapping tools, practical tools, guidance, future-planning methods, and action roadmaps. These outputs will support municipalities, cultural and creative organisations, civil society actors, and policymakers in designing more inclusive approaches to neighbourhood-based green transitions. The project will directly engage residents, with a particular focus on young people, older adults, and people in marginalised situations, while generating evidence with relevance for local, national, and European decision-making.
 

Social sciences and humanities are central to PULSE. Researchers from fields including public and social policy, sociology, urban studies, cultural research, architecture, and arts research will examine how people experience environmental change, inequality, participation, belonging, and community life. This knowledge helps ensure that responses to the green transition are informed not only by technical solutions, but also by people's everyday experiences and needs.

Horizon Europe (NEB)