Building Civic Circularity: Community Hubs and Networks for Reuse, Repair and Resource Exchange

Building Civic Circularity

Community Hubs and Networks for Reuse, Repair and Resource Exchange

Monday 30 November 2026 | 10am-4pm
Western Sydney University, Parramatta South Campus, Building EB G.02

About the event

Across communities, industries and institutions, people are already reworking how materials and resources are produced, used, shared and valued. From grassroots swapping, reuse and repair initiatives to creative collaborations and new approaches to resource exchange, this work is contributing to more just and sustainable responses to climate change, resource extraction, overproduction, waste and social inequalities. The challenge is how to connect, sustain and scale this work, building the relationships and infrastructure needed for more caring, just and circular futures.

Building Civic Circularity brings together community organisers, practitioners, councils, researchers and others to learn from what is already happening and explore what more we can achieve together.

We understand civic circularity as collectively organised and socially embedded practices of reuse, repair and resource exchange, oriented towards shared stewardship and care of materials, people and environments. It recognises the labour, relationships and collective action that make these practices possible.

Our starting point is community-led reuse, repair and swapping, where people are already meeting everyday needs, reducing waste, sharing resources and building collective capacity. We also want to explore connections with other forms of resource exchange, from food redistribution and tool libraries to the reuse of construction materials and shared use of manufacturing equipment. How might we bring together the people, knowledge and resources involved in this work to build more connected and enduring forms of civic circularity?

Building on our research and action agenda

In 2025, our Climate Justice Through Reuse and Repair gathering brought together around 120 community organisers, practitioners, council staff, researchers, students and activists. Those conversations helped shape our Climate Justice and Community Care Through Reuse and Repair: A Research and Action Agenda, which calls for greater recognition, resourcing and support for community-led reuse and repair.

This year, we're building on that work and the Circular Economy Community Hubs research led by Professor Abby Mellick Lopes and colleagues.

With community care and climate justice at the heart of this work, we'll explore what community circular hubs could look like, how existing initiatives can connect through reciprocal networks, and what forms of infrastructure, governance and support are needed for civic circularity to grow and endure.

Our aim is to strengthen existing relationships, generate new research and partnerships, and identify practical opportunities for collective action.

What to expect

Join us for a day of inspiring keynotes, responses from community practitioners and council representatives, collaborative workshops and opportunities to connect over morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. We'll also host a lunchtime community swap, putting civic circularity into practice. Come ready to share your experiences, exchange ideas, build relationships and explore opportunities for collaboration and action.

Keynote Speakers

From Community Hubs to Civic Circularity

Professor Abby Mellick Lopes - University of Technology Sydney

Abby will explore the emergence of civic circularity and how universities and other public institutions can support, partner with and champion these efforts. She will revisit promising projects such as the Circular Economy Community Hubs research, which used co-design to develop a place-based, community-led approach to reuse, repair and resource sharing. Her keynote will discuss how these concepts might be brought into practice, building on existing community initiatives and considering the spaces, partnerships, resources and governance that are needed to help civic circularity to flourish.

Belonging, Place and Environmental Care

Associate Professor Sukhmani Khorana - University of New South Wales

Drawing on her research, including Running in the Family: Australian Migrants' Environmental Care as Inter-generational and Domestic Civic Practice, Sukhmani will explore how everyday practices of environmental care, thrift and resource sharing are shaped by family relationships, cultural knowledge, places and intergenerational experiences. Her keynote will consider how these practices foster connection and belonging, and how recognising and valuing diverse forms of environmental care can shape the development of community-led place-based circular initiatives.

Keynote responses and discussion

We'll invite respondents from community organisations, reuse and repair initiatives, local councils and other relevant organisations to reflect on the keynotes and connect these ideas with their own experiences and practices.

Who should attend?

This event is for people already creating and supporting more caring, resourceful and sustainable ways of living and working, and anyone interested in contributing to this work.

We particularly welcome:

• Community organisers and practitioners involved in swapping, repair cafés, mutual aid, reuse hubs, resource sharing and grassroots climate action.

• Community organisations and social enterprises working in community development, migrant and culturally diverse communities, neighbourhood centres, libraries and social inclusion.

• Councils and government working across sustainability, waste and circular economy, community development, climate adaptation and economic development.

• Researchers and students working across design, geography, social policy, migration, cultural studies, education, business, community economies, climate justice and care.

• Reuse and repair practitioners, enterprises and industries involved in textiles, household goods, construction materials, manufacturing, creative reuse and resource exchange.

• People supporting community infrastructure through spaces, storage, transport, funding, governance, skills and partnerships.

Whether your work focuses on sharing resources, organising communities, caring for places, extending the life of materials or rethinking how resources circulate, there is a place for you in this conversation.

Come along to share what you're doing, connect with others and help shape what civic circularity could become.

Event details

Date: Monday 30 November 2026
Time: 10am-4pm
Venue: Building EB G.02, Parramatta South Campus, Western Sydney University
Cost: Free
Catering: Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea provided
Capacity: limited places, 60 participants

Convened by: Dr Jenna Condie, Associate Professor Alison Gill and Associate Professor Stephen Healy, Western Sydney University.

An event brought to you by: Urban Futures Research Group, Institute of Culture and Society; Caring Futures Strategic Research Collaboration, School of Social Sciences; Festival of Action; and Global Challenges - Creating Livable Environments at Western Sydney University.

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We acknowledge the Baramadagal people of the Dharug nation, the Traditional Owners of the lands on which our event takes place. Sovereignty was never ceded and this always was and always will be Aboriginal land. There is no climate justice without First Nations justice.