King's College London

Hopeful Futures explored how creative and participatory approaches can strengthen deliberative processes on local climate adaptation, supporting more effective engagement, building agency among participants, and generating new forms of evidence to inform policy. In Autumn 2024, the project delivered a series of four deliberative mini-public workshops, bringing together a diverse group of Londoners with researchers, an artist and policy officers from the London boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and Tower Hamlets. The workshops focused on developing a shared vision of what a well-adapted London in 2050 could look like, and identifying the actions required to achieve it.

On 15 January 2026, King’s College London and London Councils launched a policy report presenting findings from the Hopeful Futures project to stakeholders from local authorities, climate organisations and civil society. The report documents participants’ discussions across the four workshops, outlining their perspectives, the trade-offs they considered, and the choices they made in articulating a vision for a London well adapted to the impacts of climate change by mid-century.

The report identifies five key findings:

• Participants engaged strongly with the concept of climate adaptation and its relevance to everyday life in London.

• Equity and accessibility were recurring themes, with a consistent emphasis on prioritising those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

• Participants viewed early action as essential, supported by clearer communication of the benefits of climate adaptation and longer-term planning beyond electoral cycles.

• Regulation was seen as an important mechanism for accountability and for protecting future generations.

• While participants expressed growing optimism about London’s capacity to adapt, they remained sceptical about whether sufficient action would be taken.

Hopeful Futures was underpinned by principles of co-creation and creativity. The project was developed by an interdisciplinary team from King’s, including Dr Kirstie Hewlett (The Policy Institute), Dr George Adamson and Dr James Porter (Department of Geography), and Dr Johanna Kieniewicz (King’s Culture), in partnership with London Councils. Collaboration with local authorities was central to ensuring the research was aligned with policy needs and positioned to inform decision-making.

King’s Culture supported Hopeful Futures by shaping the creative methods and partnerships that fed into the project. Artist Angela YT Chan led two of the deliberative workshops, supporting participants to imagine a future London through speculative fiction. Printmaker Jo Brinton (Good Studio) worked with peer researchers to produce a zine reflecting lived experiences of heat in London, which was used as evidence within the workshops alongside academic research and policy perspectives. PolicyLab advised on the use of creative methods in deliberative processes. Together, these approaches supported informed and constructive discussions, generating recommendations that are now feeding into local policy contexts.