Just Space

What Just Space does

Just Space is an informal non-profit network of more than 80 community groups, campaigns, and concerned organisations based in London, founded in 2007 to give grassroots Londoners a collective voice in the city's strategic planning decisions, particularly the Mayor's London Plan. The network supports member groups to understand and participate in the technical planning system, coordinates collective responses to consultations, and produces alternative policy frameworks such as the Alternative London Plan for a Caring City (April 2026), the 2024 Manifesto, and the Community-led Recovery Plan (2022). It operates through bi-monthly meetings, workshops, conferences, newsletters, and targeted campaign support on issues including housing affordability, estate regeneration, environmental sustainability, and protection of community assets.

The organisation is run primarily by volunteers, with one funded coordinator role (the Organiser), currently held by Michael Ball since April 2023. Revenue is derived from grant funding, principally a 2-year grant from Trust for London, supplemented by in-kind support from academic partners including UCL The Bartlett, LSE, CASS, King's College London, and the University of Leicester. The network has no commercial revenue streams and does not charge for membership or services. Key operational projects include EstateWatch (a joint venture with London Tenants Federation providing a regeneration-monitoring resource for residents on estates threatened with demolition) and the Fairville London Lab (now spun off into an autonomous Community Interest Company as part of an EU-funded 8-city European collaboration).

The technology footprint is minimal: justspace.org.uk serves as the primary information hub, with an open-source EstateWatch website maintained by student volunteers. Distribution of publications occurs through digital downloads, printed copies distributed at events, and the member-group network. Marketing and outreach rely on organic social media (Bluesky, Instagram), email newsletters, and word-of-mouth through the 80+ member groups rather than paid acquisition. Geographic focus is exclusively London, with limited European engagement through the Fairville collaboration.

Name

Just Space

Legal name

Just Space

Website

https://justspace.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Just Space is a London-based non-profit network coordinating 80+ community groups to advocate for fairer strategic planning policy. Founded in 2007, it produces alternative planning frameworks and supports grassroots participation in the London Plan process through publications, meetings, and campaigns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Planning Advocacy

akta.pro primary industry

Space Planning & Workplace Design (BPAHAKAI)

Keywords

• Community planning advocacy
• Urban planning network
• Estate regeneration policy
• Housing policy research
• London civic coalition

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Just Space receives funding from Trust for London as their primary funding source. They also receive funds from UCL The Bartlett through working programmes with students on mutually beneficial projects. No commercial revenue generation.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Just Space is a London-wide non-profit network of community groups, tenant organizations, and civic bodies engaged in planning advocacy. It produces alternative policy documents, monitoring tools, and community-led research on issues including estate regeneration, affordable housing, and equitable land use, while coordinating collective responses to London Plan consultations and related planning decisions.

Product overview

Just Space is an informal network/advocacy organization, not a software product company. Its offerings consist of policy publications (Alternative London Plan for a Caring City, 2024 Manifesto, Community-led Recovery Plan, Alternative Good Practice Guide to Estate Regeneration), an open-source project (EstateWatch), and services (network meetings, conferences, newsletter distribution, community campaign support). The publications serve as tools for organizing and policy advocacy rather than software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Alternative London Plan for a Caring City

Quantifiable outcome

• Produced Alternative London Plan for a Caring City (April 2026) with 9 months of focused meetings and rewriting involving over 50 Just Space members
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• UCL The Bartlett School of PlanningcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2023University partnership providing student volunteers and academic advisors who work on projects of benefit to community groups. Receives funds from UCL through mutually beneficial working programmes with students.
• University of LeicestercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in the EstateWatch project, working with Just Space and King's College London on research providing detailed evidence of displacement of London council tenants since 1997.
• King's College LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in the EstateWatch project, collaborating on research on council tenant and leaseholder displacement through regeneration schemes.
• London Tenants FederationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint project partners on EstateWatch, a resource for communities on estates facing regeneration. Long-standing core member of the Just Space network.
• LSE (London School of Economics)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner providing research support and student involvement in planning policy work. Part of Just Space's university network.
• CASS (Centre for Applied Social Studies)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner providing research support. Part of Just Space's university network.
• Fairville (European collaboration)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean collaboration funded by EU Horizon Europe enabling Just Space and London communities to participate. Part of 8-city network including Brussels, Marseille, Berlin, Calarasi, West Attica, Giza, Dakar. Just Space enabled the Fairville London Lab to transition into an autonomous Community Interest Company.
• UCL Bartlett Knowledge ExchangesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudent volunteers from UCL Bartlett updating the EstateWatch website and gathering updates through knowledge exchange programmes.
• Thames Life Community Development TrustsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity development trust in Barking Riverside being supported by Just Space with advice on new Thames Road Vision and Design Code, critique of GLA/Barking and Dagenham Opportunity Area Planning Framework.
• Grand Union AlliancesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity network from Old Oak & Park Royal connecting resident, business and community groups from Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing, Brent and Kensington and Chelsea. Currently supported by Just Space.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Civic Voice: UK-wide charity supporting civic societies in influencing local planning decisions. Directly comparable to Just Space as a network-style advocacy organisation helping community groups participate in planning processes and consultations.
• CPRE London: London branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England focused on planning, housing, and environmental issues across the capital. Closely comparable to Just Space in its London planning focus, policy publication output, and member-group mobilisation model.
• Open City: London charity promoting inclusive, accessible city-making through programmes like Open House. Comparable to Just Space in advocating community-driven urban planning and engaging Londoners in shaping how the city develops.
• London Civic Forum: London-wide network of civic and amenity societies (London Forum of Civic and Amenity Societies is itself a Just Space member). Directly comparable as a coordinating network amplifying grassroots civic voices into London-wide strategic planning debates.
• Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA): Long-standing UK charity focused on planning reform and inclusive, sustainable development. Highly comparable to Just Space as both advocate for community interests in strategic planning and produce policy publications and campaigns shaping national and local planning policy.

Emerging players

• New Economics Foundation: UK think tank producing alternative economic and social policy proposals including on housing and land use. Comparable to Just Space as a producer of alternative policy visions and counter-narratives to mainstream planning orthodoxy.
• Locality: UK-wide membership network supporting community-led organisations including community anchor organisations. Comparable to Just Space as a network enabling grassroots civil society participation, though Locality's remit extends beyond planning into broader community services.
• Centre for Cities: UK urban policy think tank focused on city-level economic and housing data-driven research. Comparable to Just Space as a producer of research shaping London planning debate, though operating from a data/economic perspective rather than grassroots mobilisation.

Broad incumbents

• Friends of the Earth (London): Long-established environmental advocacy organisation with significant London planning engagement around housing, climate, and green spaces. Comparable as a London advocacy voice, but operating at national scale with paid professional staff across multiple issue areas.
• London First: London business membership organisation influencing strategic planning, infrastructure, and housing policy. Comparable as a stakeholder shaping the London Plan, though representing developer and business interests rather than community groups.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/JustSpace7
• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=ukwrGXSPJ28
• Instagraminstagram.com/justspace.london
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/justspace

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Just Space