Post by UCL Grand Challenges

What does climate change look like through a child’s eyes in London? A park that is too hot to play in. Sudden floods that change familiar routes. Storms that make outdoor space unpredictable. During London Climate Action Week, we spoke to researchers behind a UCL Grand Challenges-funded project exploring how climate unpredictability is shaping children’s play, wellbeing and everyday life in central London. In partnership with David Norman and the UCL team (Dr Marie-Annick Moreau, Dr Lakshmi Priya Rajendran, Dr Rafael Morais Chiaravalloti, Dr Alison Macdonald, Prof Audrey Prost and Dr Emily Woodhouse), this interdisciplinary project brings together anthropology, architecture and global health to understand how children experience climate change in the city where they are growing up. Using spatial analysis alongside ethnographic and participatory methods, the team is mapping how heat, flooding and extreme weather intersect with access to green space, health and inequality in one of London’s most climate-vulnerable boroughs. The aim is not only to understand impact, but to inform action. The project will produce visual and policy-relevant outputs to support child-centred approaches to climate resilience, including contributions to the Mayor of London’s climate strategy. Because children are not just living in the climate crisis. They are growing up in it. 🎥 https://bit.ly/4evs4Xh Islington Council UCL Pro-Provost London The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL #LCAW2026 #LondonClimateActionWeek #ClimateChange #UCL #UCLGrandChallenges #Children