Greater Manchester Moving – Right to the Streets

About this case study

Greater Manchester Moving (GM Moving) is a leading Greater Manchester charity and the Active Partnership for Greater Manchester, working to change lives through movement, physical activity, and sport. In 2022, GM Moving created their ‘Right to the Streets’ initiative using the Home Office Safer Streets Fund to address safety for women and girls through a whole-systems approach. This included a range of activities from community grants, active bystander training, events and interventions, as well as the #NoPlaceForIt communications campaign and Right to the Streets podcast series.

A group of women in active clothing pose next to a billboard on a pavement that reads 'No place for it'.
Children taking part in a mural painting exercise. There is a brightly coloured mural painted on an outside wall behind them. The mural includes shapes such as a bee and a house.

What the initiative included

This initiative included: 

  • a collaborative theatre project in North Trafford, which created a play about gendered harassment and access to public place with a group of local adults and young people. This then fed into a Legislative Theatre event, where the performance was used as a springboard for the audience to draft policies. The results were a set of proposals on interventions, training and access, with formal commitments to action from councillors, transport authorities and the police
  • events in parks and neighbourhoods, ranging from organised walks to football and bushcraft. These encouraged women to use their local green spaces and see them as places that they had a right to use, creating joyful experiences
  • local artists commissioned to create welcoming and joyful public spaces through art installations, workshops, murals and more, drawing on community creativity, talent, and imagination
  • workshops with residents which not only gathered data about the biggest issues and barriers, but were also used to develop a specific place review tool, which residents could use to audit their own local areas to identify which areas most needed improvements and what they would like to see
  • Right to the Streets literature review, workshops, and playing cards were used as a resource, created as a tool for planners, engineers and those working in neighbourhoods, helping to centre the experiences of women and girls and acknowledge the role that the built environment has in everyday life. This resource encourages conversation and action to reduce barriers and create a greater sense of belonging in neighbourhoods. It has been used across the north west of England and internationally in cities such as Louisville, USA, and Stockholm, Sweden
A black and white drawing of two figures dancing. One figure carries a mobility aid.

Healing through movement playing card

A black and white drawing of figures moving on a path. One figure uses a scooter, one uses a mobility aid, and one pushes a pushchair.

Infrastructure for belonging playing card

The project was integrated with wider policies and campaigns across Greater Manchester and beyond, such as the #IsThisOK? gender-based violence campaign, Sport England’s ‘Let’s Lift the Curfew’ campaign, and the Lights Up event, which raises awareness of issues faced by women cyclists, and interventions which encouraged girls from ethnic minorities to take up activities.

Further information is available on Greater Manchester Moving’s website, including the final report. Image credits: GM Moving. The Right to the Streets playing cards were developed by Publica.