Jim Diers was at the Young Foundation to discuss the capacity of communities to take charge. In conversation with Young Foundation fellow Tricia Zipfel, former CLG policy advisor on community participation, Diers spoke of his work in Seattle and considered what might work in the UK - especially in view of current straitened circumstances.

Described as "the Pied Piper for the Seattle neighborhood movement", Diers was appointed the first director of Seattle's Department of Neighborhoods in 1988. He served under three mayors over the next 14 years as the department grew to become a national model for planning and development powered by neighbours - and has written the book Neighbor Power: Building Community the Seattle Way based on these experiences.

This event heralded the next phase of the Young Foundation's Building Local Activism programme and formed part of our 2011 Lunchtime Seminar series on how we can do more with less.

Listen to the audio recording of the event.

Download the accompanying slideshow.