The Mezzo Level: Imagination as Infrastructure for Local Change

Dr Tony D. Sampson — University of Essex / Cultural Engine Research Group
The Imaginarium Project

Conference presentation at https://www.i-place.uk/

This talk asks a simple question: What if imagination becomes part of policy infrastructure? It reframes the climate crisis as neither a macro-level problem for national governance nor a micro-level issue for individuals, but as something happening in between – at the mezzo level, where shared imagination and lived experience meet environmental strategy.

Drawing on social theory (from Durkheim and the Chicago School to contemporary assemblage thinking) the mezzo emerges as a zone of emergence: neighbourhoods, networks, and local systems where collaboration, creativity, and policy intersect.

Using CERG’s Imaginarium as a practical experiment in mezzo-level organization, the talk outlines six policy interventions that position imagination as a form of infrastructure: reshaping institutional frameworks, governance, policy processes, evidence systems, resources, and stakeholder networks.

Ultimately, the talk argues for recognizing and funding the mezzo as a vital policy scale, where joined-up, speculative, co-created imagination can drive real local change.