Shows
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban DesignNet Zero Carbon Made Simple (Mini-Course part 2/3)Watch this training as a video for the best experience: Link to Video Training This is part 2 of a 3-part mini-course about how to start bringing sustainability into your work as a built environment professional. In this session, I provide a free training session about Net Zero Carbon, which is an excerpt from my upcoming full-length course: Sustainability Essentials for Built Environment Professionals- - - Subscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Consulting and training: https://greenurbanist.org/ Podcast website: https...2024-11-1315 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban DesignKickstart your Sustainability-focused Career (Mini-Course part 1/3)This is part 1 of a 3-part mini-course coming out this week about how to start bringing sustainability into your work as a built environment professional. In this episode, I give advice for how to approach learning about sustainability and what roles you can play in your career and community.To get parts 2 and 3 of this mini-course as video lessons delivered to your inbox, sign up to my newsletter: Green Urbanist Newsletter- - - Subscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Consulting and training: https://greenurbanist.org/ Podcast...2024-11-1110 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#97: Climate Adaptation Strategies for Urban Trees and WoodlandsIn this episode I share some learnings from my recent research project about how climate change is likely to affect an urban nature reserve in London and climate adaptation recommendations for the reserve's management. I discuss:How to make climate change projections tangible at the city-levelHow climate change may impact on some common tree and vegetation speciesGeneral strategies for how urban parks and natural sites can adapt to climate changeReferences:EU Tree AtlasBastin et al. (2019) Understanding climate change from a global analysis of city analoguesUSDA report: Climate adaptation actions for urban forests and h...2024-10-2851 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#96: Mainstreaming Passive Building Design in the USA, with PhiusMy guest on this episode is Katrin Klingenberg, the Executive Director of Phius. Phius is a non-profit organization committed to decarbonizing the built environment by making high-performance passive building the mainstream market standard. They are mainly active in USA with some international projects. In this episode we discuss:Why passive design principles need to be adapted to different climate zones - and how Phius has done this in their standards.The role of passive design in net zero carbon.How passive design is becoming mainstream in the USA and what else needs to be done to a...2024-10-2144 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#95: EcoResponsive Environments: Designing with Natural SystemsThis episode is a conversation with Prachi Rampuria and Soham De, co-founders of an urban design practice called EcoResponsive Environments and are co-authors of a book by the same name. They joined me on this episode to discuss the concept of designing settlements with an understanding of natural systems as the starting point. They bring together the knowledge of multiple disciplines like sustainability, landscape ecology and water management and present it in a useful way for designers. More about their work: https://www.ecoresponsiveenvironments.com/EcoResponsive Environments book- - - ...2024-10-071h 01
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#94: Stories of the Internet of Nature from 'The Nature of Our Cities' book, with Nadina GalleNadina Galle is an ecological engineer, National Geographic Explorer, science and nature writer, podcaster, and keynote speaker. She helps green professionals use emerging technologies to improve urban ecosystems for future generations. She is the author of the book, The Nature of Our Cities, which is the topic of our conversation. Through rich stories from the book, in this episode we explore:The importance of urban nature for climate resilience, health and children. The Internet of Nature, emerging technologies that are helping nature to thrive in cities.How to improve the survival of urban trees.Which cities ar...2024-09-3056 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#93: An AI Tool to Streamline Biodiversity Net Gain, with Shashin Mishra (BNGAI)This episode is all about technology to help us deliver Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). My guest is Shashin Mishra, VP of EMEA for AiDash.We explore how a new digital tool called BNGAI has been created to help developers, ecologists and local authorities deliver Biodiversity Net Gain on development sites. We talk through how can the tool be used to help designers and ecologists work together in a collaborative way to get better results.I ask the key question: Is this going to replace real ecologists? Spoiler: no, it won’t. If you wan...2024-09-2344 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#92: Chicago's Wild Mile and Other Urban Nature Innovations, with Doug Voigt (SOM)Doug Voigt, a partner at SOM, discusses the Wild Mile project in Chicago and the importance of rewilding and restoring ecological systems in cities. The project aims to reclaim part of the Chicago River as an ecological and community asset. We also discuss how the Wild Mile inspired an innovative approach to flood resilience in the Pearl River Delta. These projects are part of a larger effort to reimagine and retrofit urban infrastructure for the challenges of the 21st century.More about the Wild Mile: https://www.som.com/projects/wild-mile/More about Doug: https: https...2024-09-1645 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#91: A West African Perspective on Sustainable Architecture, with James Inedu-George (HTL Africa)James is founding partner of HTL Africa, a research-driven architectural firm dedicated to addressing the specific challenges of West African environments. He joined me to discuss what we can learn from traditional west African architecture and urbanism to apply to current challenges of climate change and housing shortages. Learn more about James and his projects: https://www.htlafrica.com/- - - Subscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Consulting and training: https://greenurbanist.org/ Podcast website: https://greenurbanistpod.com/ The Green Urbanist podcast is hosted...2024-09-0251 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#90: Nature-Sensitive Urban Design, with Dr Thami CroeserDr Thami Croeser is an urban planner with a focus on bringing nature back into cities in practical ways, at large scale. He is a Research Fellow at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.In this episode we discuss practical ways of bringing more nature into cities and helping it thrive through urban planning and design. Learn more about Thami and his publications: https://cur.org.au/people/mr-thami-croeser/- - - Subscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Consulting and training: https://greenurbanist.org/ Podcast website: h...2024-08-1253 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#89: A Planning System to Address the Climate and Housing Crises, with Shaun SpiersShaun Spiers is the Executive Director of the environmental think-tank, Green Alliance. In this episode we discuss how a stronger planning system in the UK can address the housing crisis and deliver more sustainable outcomes. Read their report, Build Up: https://green-alliance.org.uk/publication/build-up/- - - Subscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Consulting and training: https://greenurbanist.org/ Podcast website: https://greenurbanistpod.com/ The Green Urbanist podcast is hosted by Ross O'Ceallaigh. 2024-07-3148 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#88: Restoring Landscapes and Reconnecting to Nature, with Alexandra SteedAlexandra Steed is a passionate landscape architect with a deep commitment to art, sustainability, and the transformative power of landscapes. We talk about:Her new book: Portrait to LandscapeHow to restore landscapes on a large scale to build climate resilience and biodiversityHow The UK's Environment Act and Biodiversity Net Gain are working in realityProject case studies and book recommendations.Learn more:Alexandra Steed URBAN: https://alexandrasteedurban.com/Book: Portrait to Landscape: https://alexandrasteedurban.com/project/portrait-to-landscape-a-landscape-strategy-to-reframe-our-future/- - - Subscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter C...2024-06-0357 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#87: Biophilic Architecture and Design, with Louisa Whitmore (@louisatalksbuildings)Louisa Whitmore is an architecture enthusiast, TikToker and host of the Nature of Design documentary series. In this episode we discuss her experience making the documentary, the mental health benefits of biophilic environments and case studies of great biophilic projects.Learn more about the Nature of Design documentary:The Green Channel: LinkInstagram: LinkTikTok: LinkLouisa's TikTok: Link- - - Subscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Consulting and training: https://greenurbanist.org/ Podcast website: https://greenurbanistpod.com/ ...2024-05-2123 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#86: Regenerative Architecture Index - Accelerating towards a regenerative built environmentIn conversation with Alisdair Ben Dixon (Collective Works), Anna Lisa McSweeney (White Arkitekter) and Isabel Allen (Architecture Today) about the new Regenerative Architecture Index (RAI). Launched by Architecture Today and UK Architects Declare, the Regenerative Architecture Index (RAI) sets out to benchmark practices progress in the move towards regenerative practice and projects. It recognises the need for a built environment that isn’t merely reducing its negative impacts, but has positive impacts for today and the long term.We discuss why they created the index, how they define 'regenerative design' and shifting towards regenerative practice in th...2024-04-2254 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#85: Using 3D Modelling, Digital Twins and Generative Design for Sustainability, with VU.CITYI sit down with Andrew Bullmore of VU.CITY to discuss how 3D models, digital twins and artificial intelligence tools can be used to do better, evidence-based planning and design and get more sustainable outcomes. VU.CITY website: https://www.vu.city/SiteSolve generative AI: https://www.site-solve.co.uk/This is a sponsored episode. Thanks to VU.CITY for the support. - - - Subscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Consulting and training: https://greenurbanist.org/ Podcast website: https://greenurbanistpod.com/ The Green Ur...2024-04-1540 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#84: Net Zero Carbon Neighbourhoods, with Sam Luker (AESG)Sam Luker is an Associate Sustainability Director at AESG and led on their new report titled 'Net Zero Neighbourhoods'. In this episode we discuss: Why the neighbourhood scale is optimal for decarbonisation and finding local solutions to sustainabilityPrinciples and case studies for Net Zero NeighbourhoodsRetrofitting existing neighbourhoods for decarbonisationHow to get communities involved and realise local benefitsExamples of innovative funding mechanisms to deliver net zero neighbourhoodsRead the report on Net Zero Neighbourhoods from AESG/LDN Collective: https://westlondon.com/net-zero-neighbourhoods-report-launched-to-further-the-uptake-for-a-low-carbon-future/- - - Subscribe to the Green Ur...2024-03-1848 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#83: Decolonise Architecture, with Mohit Buch and Sue Yen ChongMohit and Sue Yen are architects and members of Decolonise Architecture, a solution-based group driven to tackle institutional racism and bias within architectural education and practice. In this episode we discuss: How architectural education and practice can be 'colonial' in its approach, and the problems with this.Expanding architectural education and practice to embrace other cultures and worldviews.How the architecture profession can be made more accessible to all.Learn more about Decolonise Architecture: https://www.decolonisearchitecture.com/ - - - Subscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Consulting and training: https://gr...2024-03-0845 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#82: Decarbonising Concrete and Steel, with Jeff RissmanJeffrey Rissman is Senior Director at Energy Innovation, where he leads the company’s work on technologies and policies to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from the industry sector. He is the author of Zero-Carbon Industry: Transformative Technologies and Policies to Achieve Sustainable Prosperity (2024) and coauthor of Designing Climate Solutions: A Policy Guide for Low-Carbon Energy (2018).We discuss decarbonisation pathways for concrete and steel and what urbanists can do to drive down industrial emissions.Check out Jeff's book: https://cup.columbia.edu/book/zero-carbon-industry/9780231204200- - - Subscribe to the Gr...2024-02-1850 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#81: Reimagining Roads as Public Space, with LDA (Landscape Mini-Series Part 4) Welcome to part 4, the final episode in the landscape mini-series. In this episode I sit down with Cannon Ivers CMLI of LDA to discuss their inspiring project The Strand, Aldwych. The Strand was for centuries a busy traffic thoroughfare in central London that has been transformed into a totally pedestrianised and multi-functional public space. Cannon tells me the story of how this came to be, what it means for the people who use this space and how it connects to a larger initiative to transform busy roads in central London into public spaces. More about the S...2024-02-0414 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#80: Transforming an Urban Park, with LUC (Landscape Mini-Series Part 3) Welcome to part 3 in this mini-series on landscape and urban nature. In this episode I spoke with James Virgo CMLI of LUC. He tells me about LUC’s work on Shoreditch Park. This is a nice case study of taking an existing park and working with the local community to improve it for biodiversity while tackling anti-social behaviour and creating a more welcoming and multi-function space for local people. More about Shoreditch Park: https://www.landuse.co.uk/news/luc-completes-the-shoreditch-park-improvement-works/- - - Subscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Con...2024-01-2812 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#79: Biourbanism and Landscape Design Code, with McGregor Coxall (Landscape Mini-Series Part 2) Welcome to part 2 of this mini-series on landscape and urban nature. This episode features an interview with Michael Cowdy FLI of McGregor Coxall. We discuss two of their Landscape Award-nominated projects, a research project on BioUrbanism and the second a design code for green infrastructure for a new community Cherry Hinton North, Cambridge. More about Biourbanism: https://mcgregorcoxall.com/biourbanism- - - Subscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Consulting and training: https://greenurbanist.org/ Podcast website: https://greenurbanistpod.com/ The Green Urbanist podcast is ho...2024-01-2115 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#78: Landscape-led Response to Climate Change, with the Landscape Institute (Landscape Mini-Series Part 1)Welcome to this 4-part series on the role of landscape and urban nature in creating resilient, sustainable and healthy places. Over the next 4 weeks I’ll be releasing short weekly episodes featuring interviews with landscape practitioners that highlight great case studies in landscape design and discuss the wider role of these interventions in green urbanism.The interviews were recorded at the Landscape Institute Awards 2023. Thanks to the Landscape Institute for inviting me along and organising these conversations.This first episode features a conversation with Landscape Institute President-elect Carolin Göhler FLI. The focus of this cha...2024-01-1419 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#77: Tackling Overheating in Buildings with Antonietta Canta (Arup)Antonietta Canta is a Principal Environmental and Sustainability Engineer at Arup. In this episode we discuss their recent research report: ‘Addressing overheating risk in existing UK homes’. As dry as that title sounds, the conversation was actually very illuminating and useful. It's also useful for listeners outside the UK!We discuss:How many homes in UK are at risk of overheating now and in future climate scenarios.Why new apartments overheat more than houses and older buildings.The best strategies for reducing overheating in new and existing buildings and advice for architects, planners and policy makers.Re...2023-12-3045 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#76: Community-led, Circular, Green Architecture with Jan Kattein @ The Paper GardenJan Kattein is Director of Jan Kattein Architects, a studio that focuses on collaborative, sustainable and community-focused projects. Back in September of 2023 I joined Jan at their project in south London called the Paper Garden, which is a educational building and garden space for the charity Global Generation. Some of they key points we discuss:Radically circular building with 60% reused materialsBuilt by 3000 volunteers - teaching skills and inspiring sustainabilityFlexible design approach to suit available materials rather than specific designSourcing timber from Epping Forest, LondonIs this the future of architecture?Giulia Mori joined me as co-host...2023-12-1632 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#75: From Net Zero Carbon to Regenerative Design at SOM - Kent Jackson and James WoodallKent Jackson is Design Partner at Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM) and leads the designs of a wide range of scales and typologies across the globe. Passionate about improving the future of planetary health, Kent is also a leader of SOM’s Climate Action Group, advancing the firm’s commitment for all active work to be net zero whole-life carbon by 2040. James Woodall is Sustainability Lead at SOM and was a co-editor of the LETI Climate Emergency Design Guide – a groundbreaking publication shaped by over 100 leading design professionals. The guide continues to be referred to as best practi...2023-10-081h 01
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#74: Property development as if people and planet mattered - Steve Sanham (Common Projects)Steve Sanham established Common Projects in 2021: a development company led by a purpose to put people and planet at the heart of its decision-making. Steve has an extensive and proven track record in the built environment, specialising in urban regeneration and in using development’s power to deliver better outcomes. Common Projects finances and delivers complex and game-changing development projects in London and the South East with a strong focus on sustainability and social outcomes.Common is currently delivering two large, complex London sites: the redevelopment of a 1960s ‘utopian’ complex into a community-facing housing scheme for Croydo...2023-09-1757 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#73: Sean McCormack - Rewilding Urban London (Part 2)Sean McCormack is a consultant Vet, the Chairperson of Ealing Wildlife Group, and an incredibly knowledgeable nature conservationist and educator based in west London. This episode is part 2 of our conversation where we get into more detail on: The practicalities of reintroducing beavers to an urban parkManagement of urban natureRewilding vs nature restorationThe importance of partnerships and collaborationI also got the chance to speak with Elliot Newton and Ben Stockwell of Citizen Zoo, who are also involved in the beaver reintroduction at Paradise Fields. Listen out for their voices towards the end of this episode.2023-09-0546 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#72: Sean McCormack - Rewilding Urban London (Part 1)Sean McCormack is a consultant Vet, the Chairperson of Ealing Wildlife Group, and an incredibly knowledgeable nature conservationist and educator based in west London. In this episode we discuss his work to rewild urban London by reintroducing harvest mice, beavers and (eventually maybe) water voles while supporting native predators like falcons and owls in the city. It’s a really positive and inspiring story of how a community and a local government are working together for the good of nature. We also discuss how reintroducing beavers will mitigate flooding in the local area and advice for others interested in ur...2023-08-211h 09
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#71: Nate Hagens - Planning for 'The Great Simplification' of CitiesNate Hagens is a systems thinker and educator focused on a concept he calls The Great Simplification. He has spent the last 20 years studying the systems we live in like energy, ecology and economics. He teaches at the University of Minnesota and speaks widely on these topics, including on his youtube channel called Nate Hagens and his podcast called The Great Simplification.We discuss:The Great Simplification and what that means for citiesWhat the end of fossil fuels means for the worldThe importance of scenario planning for the future of citiesWhy electric vehicles and renewables are...2023-08-0856 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#70: Climate Adaptation Explained - Resilience, Transition, TransformationClimate change is here and now cities and communities must adapt for safety, health and quality of life. In this episode I discuss a useful model for thinking about climate adaptation in three levels: resilience, transition and transformation. I also provide some examples and ideas for bringing adaptation thinking into the work of urbanists.Relevant episodes:#68: Urban Rewilding#59: Why cities need Transformational Adaptation and what it could mean for urban ecosystems#38: Dr Morgan Phillips - Climate Adaptation BibliographyThe ideas in th...2023-07-0333 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#69: Tara Gbolade and Lanre Gbolade - Sustainable Design and City-Shaping with Gbolade Design StudioThis episode is a conversation with Tara and Lanre of Gbolade Design Studio, sustainable architects and urban designers based in London. Reflecting on their 5 years in practice, we discuss a range of topics and projects including:City-shaping with masterplans and design codesRetrofitting existing buildingsZero carbon and regenerative designCommunity-building and co-creating with communitiesInnovation in design, including the use of AITheir recent exhibition, ‘Breaking Ground’, and contribution to the Venice Biennale 2023See the companion blog post for images of the projects we discuss. Learn more about Gbolade Design Studio here: https://www.gboladedesignstudio.com/...2023-06-1957 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#68: Urban RewildingWhat is urban rewilding? Can it be done in cities? Is anyone doing it? In this episode, we explore:History of the rewilding conceptCurrent best practice in rewildingHow rewilding can be applied to citiesCase studies of active and passive rewilding in urban areas around the worldCompanion Blog Post - See visuals of the stuff we talk about plus sources and bibliography. Corrections:We made a few small errors in this podcast. Around 24:00, Giulia says Sequoia tree seeds come in 'pine nuts' when she meant to say 'cones' (you can s...2023-06-041h 07
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#67: Co-designing for Spatial Justice with Jane Wong, Lydia Toohey and Tom Greenall (DSDHA)This episode is a conversation with Jane, Lydia and Tom of architecture and urban design studio DSDHA. We discuss their research project 'Towards Spatial Justice: A guide for achieving meaningful participation in co-design processes'.We explore what co-design really means, why it’s important and how they have applied co-design processes at their projects: White Horse Square in Wembley Park, London and the extension of the British Library.Learn more about DSDHA here: LinkDownload the Towards Spatial Justice research report here: LinkSee images of the projects we discuss on th...2023-05-141h 04
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#66: Designing a Sustainable Neighbourhood at The Phoenix with Xavier Smales and Andy Tugby (Human Nature)Xavier Smales is an Architect and Andy Tugby is Head of Sustainable Construction at Human Nature, a developer based in the south of England. They join me to discuss their approach to designing sustainable neighbourhoods and how they're putting this into action with a development called The Phoenix. We discuss urban design principles for sustainable lifestyles, low carbon architecture, circular economy and more. Click here to see the companion blog post on Substack for visuals of the project!Find out more about Human Nature and The Phoenix here:https://www.humannature-places.com...2023-04-2457 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#65: Joe Morris - Morris+Company Office Tour, Architecture, Circularity and FoodJoe Morris is Founding Director of Morris+Company architects, based in London and Copenhagen. In this episode, he gives me a tour of their newly refurbished London office while we discuss their philosophy and approach to architecture, sustainability, circularity and connection between food and urbanism. I have collated images of all the projects we talk about in this episode in a companion blog post on my Substack. Check it out while you listen!https://morrisand.company/- - - Subscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Consulting and...2023-04-101h 06
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#64: Civic Square - Reimagining the Neighbourhood for the 21st Century (with Immy Kaur, Kavita Purohit and Charlie Edmonds)Civic Square is a Public Square, a Neighbourhood Economics Lab and a Creative + Participatory Ecosystem. They have been doing amazing work around systems change at the neighbourhood level in Ladywood, Birmingham, where they are based. Their main projects to date include creating a Neighbourhood Doughnut based on Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics concept and exploring the invisible infrastructure needed to transition their neighbourhood towards a sustainable future.In this episode, we also have a long chat about how they are funded and the difficult reality of engaging in meaningful systems change work that doesn’t come with a bl...2023-03-271h 16
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#63: Israa Mahmoud - Co-designing Nature-based Solutions in CitiesRead the companion blog post to his episode on Substack. Israa Mahmoud is Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Her research interests include nature-based solutions, co-design and urban governance. Her recent publications include The book Placemaking for Green Urban Regeneration, published by Springer. She is the research team leader together with Prof. Eugenio Morello on CLEVER Cities Project as an expert of Co-creation guidance for cities to implement Nature-based solutions in socially inclusive urban regeneration processes.We talk about:Nature-based solutionsThe need to take...2023-03-131h 06
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#62: Helen Pineo - Healthy Urbanism from Planetary to Building ScalesRead the companion blog post to this episode on Substack. Dr Helen Pineo MRTPI is an urban planner and Associate Professor in Healthy and Sustainable Cities in the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment at University College London. Her research focuses on how property development, regeneration and urban policy can support health and sustainability. She contributes to the evidence base about why and how to do healthy urbanism by using transdisciplinary approaches and amplifying the needs of underrepresented communities and the planet. Her book, Healthy Urbanism: Designing and Planning Equitable, Sustainable and Inclusive Places, re-defines the meaning...2023-02-271h 05Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#61: Fact Checking the Norman Foster Dezeen InterviewIn this episode I fact check the article "There are a lot of dangerous myths" about sustainability says Norman Foster, which appeared on dezeen.com on 17th January 2023. The architect made some controversial statements about sustainability and defended Foster & Partner's decision to keep designing airports and leave Architects Declare. This episode is in no way an attack on the fine people who work at Foster & Partners or the work they do to design sustainable buildings. It is just a fact check of some of the controversial statements made by Foster himself, to help people understand the cl...2023-01-3032 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#60: Rob Hopkins - Why Climate Action Needs ImaginationSee links and images on the companion blog post.Rob Hopkins is the co-founder of Transition Network and of Transition Town Totnes, and author of several books including ‘The Transition Handbook‘ and most recently, ‘From What Is to What If: unleashing the power of imagination to create the future we want’. He is an Ashoka Fellow, has spoken at TED Global and at several TEDx events, and appeared in the French film phenomenon ‘Demain‘. He holds a PhD from the University of Plymouth, and is a Director of Totnes Community De...2023-01-2346 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#59: Why cities need Transformational Adaptation and what it could mean for urban ecosystemsClimate change is causing local weather patterns and ecosystems to shift and transform. In order to thrive in this new climate era, we will need to transform our cities and urban ecosystems. This is called 'Transformational Adaptation'. My co-host today is Giulia Mori and in this episode we discuss:What is Transformational Adaptation and why we need itHow ecosystems are transforming due to climate change2 case studies of transformation and what we can learn from themSome thoughts on how we could reimagine urban parks for the futureKey Reference: Colloff, M.J...2022-12-1250 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#58: Creating a Culture of Sustainable Design with Glenn Howells ArchitectsCompanion blog post on Substack I speak to Will Poole (Partner) Jack Pritchard (Associate Urban Designer) and Sophia Ceneda (Architect and Sustainability Lead) at Glenn Howells Architects. Glenn Howells Architects are based in London and Birmingham. They’ve designed award winning housing, tall buildings and masterplans across the UK. Our conversation focuses on how over the last few years they have shifted their approach towards sustainable design, and developed their own studio culture and processes internally for delivering sustainable projects. If you are interested in how to embed sustainability within a des...2022-11-3036 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#57: Laura Baron (Purcell) - Sustainability in Historic BuildingsCompanion blog post on Substack Laura is Head of Sustainability at Purcell, a practice of architects, heritage consultants and masterplanners working on historic structures. In this episode, we discuss Purcell's work to improve the sustainability of iconic cathedrals and advice for improving the sustainability of historic buildings of all types by taking the right approach. Links Ted Talk: How to find joy in climate action Purcell website Laura's Linkedin - - - Subscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Consulting and training: https...2022-11-1445 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#56: Joao Cortesao - Climate-Responsive Urban Design, Adaptation and Research Through DesignJoao is a Portuguese architect and researcher, and an Assistant Professor at Wageningen University, Netherlands. His research focuses on climate-responsive urban design and climate adaptation using a research-through-design approach. His motivation is to create and transfer design knowledge to practitioners and decision-makers, in order to prompt the adaptation of urban areas to climate change.We talk about his research on designing cooling urban environments with water and vegetation, running design workshops with architects in Egypt to spark locally-specific climate adaptation measures and bridging the gap between research and practice. This episode is full of practical...2022-10-241h 03
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#55: Tim Stonor and Anna Rose (Space Syntax) - Science-based Human-centric UrbanismTim Stonor is an architect and urban planner who has devoted his career to the analysis and design of human behaviour patterns – the ways in which people move, interact and transact in buildings and urban places. He is Managing Director of Space Syntax and a visiting professor at several top universities like University College London.Anna Rose is an architect and urban planner, and Director of Space Syntax, where she leads their consulting activities in the UK, USA and continental Europe. She is also Honorary Senior Research Fellow at The Bartlett, University College London.Space Sy...2022-10-1048 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#54: Dr Dorina Pojani - Eco-Feminist UrbanismDr Dorina Pojani is a Senior Lecturer at University of Queensland, Australia. An urban planner and urban designer by training, she has experience in both practice and academics. We discuss her new book Trophy Cities, a feminist perspective on new capitals and explore how patriarchal ideology is expressed in urban design, and what a matriarchal or 'eco-feminist' approach may be.Find our more about Dorina: https://researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/11894 Green Urbanist websiteContact RossSocial Media:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPod2022-09-2645 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#53: Vanessa Champion - Biophilic Design for Climate ActionOriginally an academic at UCL, Ness has a PhD in Greek and Latin, and also worked in the British Museum, honing her interest in research in how societies flourish and how the visual environment informs our behaviours. Way before her academic career she had started selling her landscape and seascape photography, relishing the quiet, healing moments that nature gave to her during her teenage years. It was during her 20s that she started living very “naturally”, eating whole foods, reducing her grid energy consumption, choosing natural materials to wear, etc. When she left academia Ness worked in various industries, incl...2022-09-1244 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#52: Divya Hariramani - Community Orchards, Urban Fruit Trees and Social SustainabilityMy guest and tour guide today in Divya Hariramani Herrero. She is a sustainability consultant and Associate Director at Longevity Partners, a London National Park City Ranger and runs an instagram page called Fruity Walks, where she is chronicling the amazing and surprising fruit tree of London and beyond. She is fascinated by all aspects of sustainability from low energy engineering to growing fruit trees in her South London neighbourhood. I joined her for a walk around Bermondsey where she told me the stories behind two urban orchards and how the community has come together to grow f...2022-08-2945 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#51: Regenerative Highrise with Tomas Stokke (Haptic Architects) and Shonn Mills (Ramboll)In today’s episode we’re talking about the contentious issue of tall buildings. Some people love them, some people hate them. My guests today have come up with a concept for high rise that could be much more sustainable and adaptable than conventional skyscrapers. My guests today are Tomas Stokke and Shonn Mills. Tomas is a co-founder of Haptic Architects based in London and Oslo. He overseas Haptic’s international work and has taught, lectured, exhibited and been published internationally. Shonn Mills is Global Head of High Rise Buildings at Ramboll, with more than 20 years ex...2022-08-1346 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#50: The Critical Decade of Climate Action, with Giulia MoriTo celebrate the 50th episode and second birthday of the Green Urbanist Podcast, I sit down with Giulia Mori to discuss the question: What has to happen in this critical decade to ensure successful climate action?We talk about:The need for legislation to push the building industry towards sustainabilityCircular economy and 'Circular Score', a concept Giulia developed with some collaboratorsThe challenge of giving up oil, and why we need to do itGetting excited about the future againClimate adaptation Find out more about Circular Score: https://www.ukgbc.org/inside_innovation/the-circular-score/C...2022-08-0158 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#49: "We're not doing doom and gloom!" - Live from Footprint+ Sustainability ConferenceReporting live from Footprint+ 2022, a new sustainability conference in Brighton, UK. Featuring interviews with:Joe Jack Williams, Feilden Clegg Bradley StudiosBarny Evans, TurleyAmin Taha, Groupwork Steve Webb, Webb Yates EngineersTim Pyne, Footprint+ (Footprint Plus) U+IQ-BotRaw ChargingWe discuss a range of topics including the net zero energy transition, building with stone and timber, the sustainability of historic places, retrofit robots and more!Green Urbanist websiteContact FormSocial Media:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttp...2022-07-1833 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#48: Younha Rhee & Gustavo Brunelli (Atelier Ten) - Environmental DesignGustavo and Younha are both Technical Directors at Atelier Ten, an environmental design consultancy. Combining expertise in architecture and engineering they shape buildings and masterplans to be sustainable and healthy. In this episode we discuss:What is environmental design and how it differs for buildings and masterplansCircular design in masterplanningCarbon emissions and sinks in landscape designHow the development and design industry is changing and the need for collaboration and debateThis episode was recorded at the Footprint+ Conference in Brighton in May 2022. We recorded this with a single microphone sitting outside near to the beach so t...2022-07-0428 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#47: Primal City (Part 3) - Biophilia and Urban EcologyBiophilia is about how we as humans have an innate love and connection to other living things. It is no surprise then that spending time in natural environments such as forests, mountains and parks, is extremely beneficial to our mental and physical health. But how can we recreate our natural biophilic habitat in urban areas? Can we make cities good homes for other living things too? Sources (articles):https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/06/studies-on-natures-mental-health-benefits-show-massive-western-biashttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666049022000263?via%3Dihubhttps://www.futureoflondon.org.uk/2020/10/20/parks-and-green-space-does-everyone-feel-welcome/https://www.groundwork.org.uk...2022-06-2037 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#46: Decolonising Sustainability, with Samantha Suppiah, Christina Mirasol Sayson, Anna Denardin and Nolita Mvunelo (Possible Futures)This episode is a conversation with Samantha Suppiah, Christina Mirasol Sayson, Anna Denardin and Nolita Mvunelo of Possible Futures. We talk about colonialism and sustainability, the realities of life in the Global South and the need for communities to be able to define their own vision for a regenerative future.Note: This episode is pretty heavy and may be challenging for listeners in the Global North, who are not used to considering colonialism. I invite you to stick with it and keep an open mind. This is a really important discussion.Footnotes:...2022-06-061h 17
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#45: Farah Naz - Net Zero City: a 10 Year Transformation PlanIn this episode, we talk about Farah's new book Net Zero City, the role of urban design in achieving a net zero city, and a clear process for cities to decarbonise in 10 years.Farah Naz, is an award winning Climate Change strategist with over 20 years’ experience in the construction sector gained in the USA, UK, Southeast Asia and most recently the United Arab Emirates (UAE). She is a Chartered Engineer (UK), Fellow of CIBSE, LEED and WELL AP and Verified Research Expert for Dubai Future Foundation. Farah Chairs CIBSE UAE Chapter and is an advocate of STEM ed...2022-05-2359 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#44: Steve O'Reilly (The Rediscovery Centre) - Circular Economy and Social ValueSteve O'Reilly works in a policy & communications role at Ireland's national centre for the Circular Economy, The Rediscovery Centre. Steve spent over 7 years in the Netherlands, Europe's circular economy hotspot, working on many projects related to circularity and becoming inspired by the circular innovation he saw there. Upon returning to Ireland during the pandemic, Steve took up a position in The Rediscovery Centre in Dublin to help drive circularity back in Ireland.In this episode, Steve shares insights into the social potential of circularity, how it is blossoming in rural communities and what we can learn from...2022-04-2446 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#43: Primal City (Part 2) - Housing for Homo SapiensIt turns out what's good for us is also good for the planet.How can we design housing for human beings that aligns with our evolution? In this episode I talk about how Co-Housing and Eco-Village concepts could be a proxy for hunter gatherer tribes by creating small, cooperative communities within urban settings. This way of living has huge benefits for our wellbeing and can also be an effective way of minimising energy and resource use. A Win-Win for people and the environment.Resources and further reading:Articles/web pages:2022-04-0321 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#42: Primal City (Part 1): Why Urbanists Should Study Hunter GatherersThis episode is part 1 of a series about human evolution, our prehistory and Hunter Gatherer ways of life. Why should urbanists be interested in this? In this episode I make the argument that:We evolved over 2 million years as foragers and it is the only environmentally and socially sustainable way of life we know of.Living this way, embedded within ecosystems, is what what we are optimised for and therefore how human beings thrive.Life in our prehistoric past (and in modern hunter gatherer bands) is not nearly as awful as we think. In fact we can learn a...2022-03-2127 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#41: Michael Pawlyn (Flourish) - Regenerative Design, Biomimicry and Systems ChangeMichael Pawlyn established Exploration Architecture in 2007 and has built a reputation as a thought leader in regenerative design and the circular economy. He has lectured internationally and, in 2011, became one of only a small handful of architects to have a talk posted on TED.com which has since had over 1.8 million views. He is the author of Flourish: Design Paradigms for our Planetary Emergency (with co-author Sarah Ichioka) and Biomimicry in Architecture.In this episode we talk about:Regenerative DesignBiomimicryIndigenous WisdomSystems Change and shifting Paradigms.All of these ideas are captured in the amazing new...2022-03-071h 06Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#40: Disability Mobility with Anna Zivarts, Abby Griffith and Micah Lusignan (Disability Rights Washington)Today we’re talking about the intersection of of mobility, sustainability, social justice and disability rights.I am joined by Anna, Micah and Abby from Disability Rights Washington who are part of the Disability Mobility Initiative for Washington State in the US. They are doing amazing work in sharing the stories of how people with disabilities move around and campaigning for systemic change in how our urban environments are designed and built. They want to see people with disabilities in real positions of power and influencing decision making and they talk about the barriers that are currently st...2022-02-1448 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#39: Simon Pitkeathley - Camden High Line and Climate Action for Local BusinessesSimon is CEO of the business improvement districts Camden Town Unlimited and Euston Town, as well as being CEO of Camden Collective, & the Camden Highline. He is also Co-Chair of the Cross River Partnership and Chair of Camden Giving. Simon sits on the London Enterprise Action Partnership (LEAP) and is its Champion for Small Business. During the pandemic Simon was seconded to Mayor’s Covid Business Forum and the London Transition Board, where he Chaired the Business Reopening Strategy Group. He now sits on the London Recovery Board. Simon has been leading the Camden Highline project since its inception in 2017...2022-01-2744 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#38: Dr Morgan Phillips - Climate AdaptationDr Morgan Philips is UK Co-Director of The Glacier Trust, a UK charity that enables remote mountain communities in Nepal to adapt to Climate Change, and Head of Insight at Global Action Plan. He has a PhD in Environmental Education and is the author of Great Adaptations, a new book about climate adaptation.In this episode we are talking, unsurprisingly, about climate adaptation. What is it, why we need to be talking about it and lots of examples of good and bad adaptations from cities adapting to increased heat to rural communities in Nepal using agroforestry.2022-01-091h 01Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#37: The Problem with Net Zero Carbon (an Urban Design Perspective)"So, here's a big problem we need to talk about.Net Zero Carbon means different things in different situations. We all get to define what we "mean" by net zero (i.e. what we include in our calculations) to suit our project."In this episode I delve into the problems associated with the term 'Net Zero Carbon', particularly from an urban design and placemaking perspective.Today's episode was sparked by a Linkedin post I made criticising McDonald's Net Zero Carbon restaurant: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ross-o-ceallaigh_mcdonalds-opens-uks-first-net-zero-restaurant-activity-6878675708114153472-X3HIIt got...2021-12-2728 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#36: Chris Churchman - Soil, the Forgotten Carbon SinkSoils matter! Chris Churchman explains how protecting green areas and improving soil quality is crucial for fighting climate change. Chris is a landscape architect and strategist, and the founding Director of Churchman Thornhill Finch landscape architects. As well as having decades of experience designing stunning projects like the gardens of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, Chris is interested in the role of soil in tackling climate change. He joined me to talk about the potential for soil to play a much bigger role in sequestering carbon, how new development on greenfield sites releases a lot more c...2021-12-1252 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#35: Rachel Hoolahan (Orms) - Circular Economy and Material PassportsRachel Hoolahan is an architect and sustainability co-ordinator at Orms Architects, a leading London practice with extensive experience working with existing buildings. For the past few years, the practice has engaged in a series of deep research assignments and is utilising this data and knowledge to push the boundaries of sustainable development – both in refurbishment and new build projects.Recently, she led a research piece on material passports as part of a wider Grosvenor Estate Innovation Project into material reuse. The outcome of this work is a methodology for encouraging more meaningful material reuse, by creating a ma...2021-11-2856 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#34: George Payiatis - Masterplanning Sustainable, Beautiful PlacesGeorge is an urban designer at Create Streets, working to create greener, happier and healthier communities. He believes that designers have a key role to play in safeguarding the long-term well-being of communities and our environment through design that recognizes the value of nature, local context and sustainable connectivity. He has a background in human geography and holds a Masters’ in urban design. George works closely with landowners, developers, councils and neighbourhood groups and has experience of working on masterplans for new settlements, urban extensions and brown field sites, at a range of scales both in the U.K. an...2021-11-141h 02
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#33: Doughnut Economics Explained and What it Means for CitiesThis episode explains the concept of Doughnut Economics and explores how Amsterdam is using it in its post-Covid recovery.References:https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/25/amsterdam-brussels-bet-on-doughnut-economics-amid-covid-crisis.htmlhttps://www.amsterdam.nl/en/policy/sustainability/circular-economy/https://matchboxstudio.medium.com/designing-the-doughnut-a-story-of-five-cities-8bad04ded5e3https://time.com/5930093/amsterdam-doughnut-economics/Follow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttps://www.instagram.com/greenurbanistpodhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/green-urbanist-podcast- - - Subscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Consulting and training: https...2021-10-3120 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#32: Conrad Richardson - Sustainable Mobility in South East AsiaWatch a video of this episode on Conrad's YouTube channel:Conrad is a mobility and climate activist with an international academic and professional background in urban and transport planning, engineering and design across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East. His experiences span the transport spectrum – he has worked on traditional infrastructure projects, such as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as well as on cutting-edge projects, like the RTA Big Data Platform Project in Dubai, UAE. He also lectures in Universities on a wide variety of transport engineering and ‘Future of Mobi...2021-10-171h 25
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#31: Scott McAulay - Anthropocene Architecture SchoolScott is an activist, architectural designer, educator and writer. Disgruntled with the lack of focus on sustainability and climate change within architectural education, Scott began the Anthropocene Architecture School, which fuses architectural education, climate literacies and sustainable design - utilising activist media strategies and educational workshops to catalyse and support responses to the Climate and Ecological Emergency from within the construction industry.Scott is someone who is dedicated to getting things done and making a difference. He is incredibly knowledgeable and inspiring.In this episode we talk about:His approach to education and why...2021-10-041h 17
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#30: Ran Boydell - Adapting Buildings to a New Climate Era and Retrofitting for Net Zero Carbon Ran Boydell has studied and practised architecture in the UK and his native Australia for over three decades, with particular emphasis on sustainability, heritage, and rural architecture. Today, Ran is passionate about delivering on zero-carbon targets, implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and working across disciplines and industry sectors to help drive a rapid and radical transition to a sustainable economy. He was a founder of #ArchitectsDeclare in Australia, teaches university courses on sustainable development, and is a pioneer of sustainable homes for the mass market through his "ecohus" brand. Ran's article in The Conversation:2021-09-201h 05
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#29: Dr Hossein Sadri - De-Urban Design, Paradigm Shifts and Indigenous KnowledgeDr Hossein Sadri is concerned with making the planet a better place to live and works as an activist, designer, writer, and teacher to create this change. He is the co-founder of De-Urban Design Studio; the design laboratory that reimagines human settlements as ethical, ecological, and equitable living habitats. He also teaches architecture at Coventry University.We talk about:The concept of De-Urban designWhy we need a radical paradigm shift to solve the challenges of climate change and ecological destructionThinking in the long term and building for multiple generationsAnd what we can learn from indigenous cultures. 2021-09-061h 14
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#28: Balázs Erdei - Innovative, Nature-Based Solutions for Regenerative CitiesBalazs is founder of Green Urbanics, marketplace and blog for innovative, nature-based, urban sustainability solutions. He has a long career in business development and innovation, but with a background in ecology. His mission is to support regenerative businesses and bring the best solutions to city governments so they can quickly deploy them and take action on climate change.Innovative Solutions mentioned in the episode:Low Tech:ancient architecture solutions - latticed screens, buildings painted white, covered with green roofs and vines, cooling ponds, using the wind and nature’s other means of regulating ai...2021-08-231h 02
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#27: Dr Nadina Galle - The Internet of Nature, Technology and Urban EcologyNadina is an ecological engineer, technologist, and entrepreneur dedicated to working with urban ecologists and planners to apply today’s technology to improve urban ecosystems for future generations of city dwellers. She also runs an excellent podcast called the Internet of Nature, which I highly recommend.In this episode we talk about:What is the Internet of NatureHow to use technology to ensure better tree survival rates in citiesAnd the role of technology in connecting city residents to nature.I am always a bit skeptical of the idea of smart cities and relying on technology to...2021-08-0949 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#26: Dr Brian O'Ceallaigh - Why Climate Anxiety is Healthy and How to Manage itDr Brian O'Ceallaigh is a clinical psychologist working for the national health service in England and he also happens to be my brother. I sat down with him to discuss how climate anxiety and climate despair are perfectly healthy responses to the crisis we are facing and how you can manage these feelings through positive action, acceptance and mindfulness practice. We also discuss some of the ways our psychology gets in the way of taking action on climate change and keeps us in the status quo. Follow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPod2021-07-2644 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#25: Alice Schmidt (The Sustainability Puzzle) - Systems Thinking, Circularity and the End of Civilisation?This episode is a conversation with Alice Schmidt.Alice is an advisor, advocate and author on global sustainability & social transformation. Amongst other things, she is an adviser to organisations like the European Commission and Extinction Rebellion and lectures at Vienna University.She is the author of a new book, The Sustainability Puzzle, which explores how systems thinking, circularity, climate action and social transformation can improve health, wealth and wellbeing for all.We talk about all these topics and more.Find out more about Alice and the book:https://www...2021-07-1256 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#24: Luke Newcombe (GrowN22) and Charles Linton - London National Park City RangersThis is the first episode in an ongoing series exploring the work of London National Park City Rangers. I go 'in the field' to to meet Rangers Luke Newcombe and Charles Linton in Wood Green, North London, to see some urban greening interventions first hand:Green public space at Wood Green LibraryGreen roofsThe borough's first Parklet/Pocket ParkNature ReserveLuke also gives advice for how you can start greening your own neighbourhood.Luke runs GrowN22, a Community Interest Company dedicated to transforming unlikely, disused and neglected spaces and gardens across Haringey into vibrant community gardens...2021-06-2834 minGreen Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#23: Systems Thinking - An Intro for Climate Action in CitiesAn introduction to the concept of Systems Thinking and how it is essential for understanding and taking action on climate change. This episode is inspired by the book Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows. It covers:What is Systems Thinking?How to get started thinking in systemsSystem structure - stocks, flows and loopsLeverage points for changing systemsFollow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttps://www.instagram.com/greenurbanistpodhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/green-urbanist-podcastReferenceshttps://www.climateinteractive.org/ci-topics/systems-thinking/https://www.c...2021-06-1635 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#22: Arthur Kay (Skyroom) - Densify Cities with Affordable Homes for Key WorkersToday's episode is a conversation with Arthur Kay, Founder and CEO of Skyroom and Bio Bean, and Chair of the Key Workers Homes Fund.Skyroom is an award-winning technology and urban development company which delivers precision-manufactured homes in the airspace above existing buildings. Their mission is to improve the lives of key workers by delivering affordable, sustainable, beautiful homes near where they work. They aim to create 10,000 homes for key workers in London by 2030 by building above existing buildings.We speak about:The unique challenges of densifying cities by building additional storeys above existing...2021-05-1753 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#21: Jake Attwood-Harris (Hawkins\Brown) - Whole Life Carbon, Zero Carbon Architecture and Retrofitting for SustainabilityJake is Sustainable Design Advisor at Hawkins\Brown where he led the development of the free open-source Hawkins Brown Emissions Reduction Tool, also referred to as H\B:ERT, which is a whole life carbon calculation tool. Jake works across all project stages; developing and reviewing key sustainability strategies and targets. His work is at the boundary between architecture and engineering; working with passive design techniques to create comfort in buildings before using modern technology where it counts.In the episode Jake and I discuss:The practicalities of achieving net zero carbon by 2050Taking an evidence...2021-04-121h 06
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#20: Jonny McKenna and Dhruv Sookhoo (Metropolitan Workshop) - A New Kind of Suburbia and Practice-Based ResearchToday's episode is a conversation with Jonny McKenna and Dhruv Sookhoo of Metropolitan Workshop, a leading practice of architects and urban designers based in London and Dublin. Jonny McKenna is Director of their Dublin office, an architect and urban designer and has played a lead role in masterplanning and residential projects since joining Metropolitan Workshop in 2006.Dhruv Sookhoo is Head of Research and Practice Innovation at Metropolitan Workshop. He is both a chartered Architect and town planner, and a social researcher.The focus of our conversation today is suburbia. As urbanists we can sometimes be...2021-03-291h 09
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#19: Virginia Cinquemani - Key Skills for a Successful Sustainability CareerToday's episode is a conversation with Virginia Cinquemani.Virginia is the founder and director of Green Gorilla Consultants, a unique training and coaching company focusing exclusively on empowering sustainability professionals to become the most confident and assertive version of themselves, and to successfully accomplish their sustainability projects even when their stakeholders think sustainability is a waste of time and money!Virginia is a qualified architect, project manager and BREEAM AP, with a life long passion for sustainability.She is the author of SustainABLE: How to Find Success as a Sustainability Professional in a...2021-03-1551 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#18: Liza Degtyareva (4D Sustainability) - Small Business Sustainability, Regenerative Economy, and UN Sustainable Development Goals Liza is a business consultant, social innovator and advocate for regenerative economy. She's a member of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership network and has extensive experience working in several industries and countries as project manager and consultant. Today she runs her own business called 4D Sustainability helping small and medium businesses on their sustainability journey. She and her co-founder developed a simplified methodology that enables small companies to adopt sustainability measures, as she believes that without small and medium enterprises on board the transition to net zero and better future will not be possible. We talk ab...2021-03-0149 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#17: James Godfrey-Faussett - Growing Urban Forests with the Miyawaki MethodJames grows urban forests around the UK with his company Wild Urban Spaces and with rewilding organisation SUGi. He is an expert in the use of the Miyawaki Method of afforestation, which is a Japanese approach to rapidly creating healthy, native forest ecosystems, and can be applied to small sites in urban contexts. In this episode we discuss:The Miyawaki MethodThe Forest of Thanks, a Miyawaki forest recently planted in London to express gratitude to NHS workers during the pandemicHow trees make it rain and also alleviate floodingThe mystery of Biodynamics in soilTrees as tsunami defense An...2021-02-1553 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#16: Are Tall Buildings Sustainable?In today's episode we are asking, are tall buildings sustainable? It is often argued that because of their density, tall buildings are essential for sustainable cities to support public transport, walking, cycling and thriving communities. However, once you start looking into it, it is far more complicated than that.In this episode, tall buildings are analysed based on their environmental, social and economic sustainability with some surprising results.Follow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttps://www.instagram.com/greenurbanistpodContact the Green Urbanist:greenurbanistpod...2021-01-3137 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#15: Psychology of Climate ActionThis episode pulls heavily from two excellent books, The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells and The Future We Choose by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac. I look at the cognitive biases that prevent us from thinking logically and honestly about climate change, and therefore limit our actions, as presented in The Uninhabitable Earth. Following this I discuss the three "mindsets" put forward in The Future We Choose, that can help us to reframe the problem in our minds and take meaningful action.Follow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPod2021-01-1728 min
Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design#14: Livestock and Climate Change - Why Cows are not (Necessarily) EvilWelcome to the Green Urbanist, the podcast for urbanists fighting climate change. I'm Ross.The premise of this episode is that the way we currently produce most of our meat, using factory farms and feedlots, is a disaster from an environmental point of view and contributes a small but significant amount to global greenhouse gas emissions. However, there is a potential solution to this problem beyond simply eating less meat, which involves managing livestock in such a way that it contributes to ecosystem restoration and carbon sequestration in soil. That's why the title of this episode is...2021-01-0327 min