brownfield land

child climbing up a slope over a broken fence, with a spray painted sign to the right

burslem port, stoke-on-trent: 2016-present

A post-industrial wasteland reclaimed by nature and owned by a mis-match of utility companies and the City Council provided space and freedom for young people to explore, discover and create.  It also provided space and freedom for our co-director Laurel Gallagher to experiment, take risks and reflect on her developing practice with community groups, artists and academics.

children, wild spaces and wellbeing

Dr Jenny Hallam (Derby University) has qualified, verified, and disseminated the positive benefits that children have experienced as a result of engagement with our projects, helping us to access partners and funding.

Dr Ben Anderson (Keele University) has expanded our understanding of land rights; access and trespass. In 2018, Ben and Laurel co-created ‘Feral Futures’, an exhibition made with children mapping their connection with Burslem Port (Being Human Festival 2018).

feral spaces of Middleport: Arts council 2016

real life adventures: tnl community fund 2017

social spaces: canal and river trust: 2018

more than water: canal and river trust: 2019

a person is paining a black and red leaf on a white sheet
woman talking to a group of children in overgrown area
person holding up white sacking with black splotches on it
two children investigating an area of wilderness
child blowing into a leaf in forest
two children writing on graffitied corrugated metal

towards an urban commons

aged looking poster containing information about an event

academics. artists. activists. community organisations.

The Urban Commons Network was established on 20th April 2020 to discuss the provocation of an Urban Commons Charter. Join the network to share ideas, projects and learning with a growing community of interest.

guiding principles and collaborative frameworks

We propose that Urban Commons be areas of brownfield land managed by and for the benefit of local communities.

blue diagram depicting the principles of the Urban Commons Network


academic research partnership. ben anderson. keele university

“Working with Urban Wilderness has led to an exciting opportunity for a new social compact on access to urban green spaces. We have long known about the environmental importance of brownfield sites; only recently have we begun to realise their social potential as well, and this project seeks to release that potential, for the benefit of some of the country’s poorest communities." Dr Ben Anderson ‘Exploring how brownfield land can benefit communities’