Too Hot to Thrive: How Climate Change is Deepening Inequality for Camden’s Young People

The Institute of Health Equity Housing report 2025 is full of tough statistics. I wanted to dwell on a couple – and on their implications for young people in Camden as we swelter through our 5th heatwave in 2026.

London has the highest rates of household overcrowding in England. Property inequality and overcrowding in Camden is some of the worst in London. London typically experiences the highest temperatures in England during summer, including during heatwaves. Many homes are not adapted to extreme heat and this will become an increasingly significant determinant of health inequalities as summers become hotter. The charities that provide essential (and amazing) summer experiences for young people in Camden also struggle to find affordable space – and when they do – it will rarely be air-conditioned. When charities and summer clubs are forced to close because they are too hot to operate – they may be resigned to sending young people back to homes which are even hotter.

So - those with the least resources will feel the impact of these heatwaves most. It will impact physical and mental health, and it will reduce participation in life-shaping opportunities which are so vital for those often excluded from the enrichment that more advantaged young people can enjoy.

I hope that philanthropists and policy makers considering the impact of our climate will think laterally, step forward, and embrace the need of charities as well as ‘statutory’ spaces to future-proof themselves. With fit-for-purpose premises and temperature control, they will continue to provide high-value and practical benefit to the communities they serve whatever the weather – and that helps make Camden a more equal and rewarding place to grow up. But this will be a step-change in how we think about the spaces charities need to operate in.

Written by Honor Wilson Fletcher, Interim CEO of Young Camden Foundation