Green Urbanist - Sustainable Placemaking, Planning and Urban Design

Everyone seems to love vegetated buildings like 'Bosco Verticale' in Milan (pictured). So, why isn't this a standard building approach for new buildings? Why are there still so few of them?

In this episode I go under the surface and explain three reasons why vertical forest buildings are not commonplace – and why that might not be a bad thing.

Learn more about Urban Wilding Hub: https://urbanwildinghub.com/

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Urban Wilding Hub is a new not-for-profit with the mission to mainstream rewilding in towns and cities across Europe. In this episode I explain why I'm launching this and how you can get involved.

Website

Wilding Partners

Urban Wilding Projects Map

Contact about volunteering or collaboration

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Biomimicry has the potential to transform the way we design buildings, public spaces and local economies to reduce environmental harm and improve our health. 

Architect and author Michael Pawlyn joins me to discuss the newly released third edition of his book 'Biomimicry in Architecture'. We discuss what biomimicry actually means and lots of examples of how it can be applied in the built environment.

Buy the book: Biomimicr...

I'm co-leading a fantastic urban design training on 25 September at the Olympic Park in London, UK. Listen to learn more about the format and what you'll learn.

Learn more and register here: https://course.greenurbanist.org/masterclass-sept-25

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A conversation with Theo Michell (COO) and Joe Jack Williams (Head of sustainability) at Bywater Properties. We talk about: 

• A timber-first approach to development 
• A case study of 'Paradise', a six-storey timber-led office building in London
• How timber is becoming more mainstream in UK construction
• Advice for architects and developers getting started with timber

Bywater Properties: https://bywaterproperties.com/

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This episode is a conversation with Catherine Barratt, Managing Director of Furnitubes. Furnitubes create modular street furniture that helps to bring communities together. In this episode we discuss how they are innovating with sustainable materials and manufacturing processes to create lower impact furniture at the same price. 

Furnitubes Website: https://www.furnitubes.com/

The Green Room podcast: https://www.furnitubes.com/p...

This episode is a conversation about the 'Wilding Campuses' programme, led by Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK). We talk about the practicalities of applying a 'wilding' approach on highly altered and designed landscapes on educational campuses. 

My guests are:

• Jo Wilkinson, Senior Project Manager, SOS-UK
• Celine Clarke-Miller, Project Manager, SOS-UK
• Liz Morley, Wilding Campuses Project Manager, No...

Mike Berners-Lee is a consultant and author of the new book A Climate of Truth. In this episode we discuss the polycrisis and how raising standards of honesty is essential to respond to the challenges we are facing.

Learn more about and purchase the book: A Climate of Truth

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Urban Wilding Hub

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This is a conversation with Elliot Newton and Ben Stockwell of Citizen Zoo, a Community Interest Company that are rewilding urban areas with communities.

We talk about:

• What rewilding in the city means
• Grazing animals in urban green spaces
• Reintroducing water voles and beavers to London
• Bringing white storks back to London
• The challenges and opportunities of rewilding cities

Links
Citizen Zoo website: https://www.citizenzoo.o...

This is a conversation with Scott McAulay, Regenerative Design and Infrastructures Specialist at pioneering architecture studio Architype. We talk about:

• What 'regenerative design' means in practice for an architecture studio
• Working with clients in a regenerative process
• Circular economy principles as a gateway into regenerative design
• Why regenerative design is also about social justice and local economies
• The role of na...

This episode is a conversation with Salem Qunsol, Principal Sustainability Consultant at Verte, about the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard. 

Salem was one of the contributors to the standard. He joined me to discuss:

• The best practice approach to Net Zero Carbon building design
• The role of natural materials like timber in net zero
• The role and risks of offsetting emissions
• Combining circular economy and net zero carbon approach...

My guest is Virginia Cinquemani, a coach, trainer and Director at Green Gorilla. In this episode we discuss strategies from her book The Good Communicator on how to communicate sustainability with clients, communities and colleagues. 

This episode is for anyone who wants practical advice on how to promote sustainability by understanding why people are resistant to change and the importance of co-creation in any project. 

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My guests today are Rosanna Vitiello, Chief at the Place Bureau, and Domenica Landin, Associate Design Researcher at Place Bureau. 

Place Bureau is a research, strategy and design studio that defines new frontiers for places around the world.

We talk about:

• How to meaningfully engage communities with the future of their places and climate adaptation.
• The Collaborative Place Futures Toolkit, a practical tool for engaging communities...

Register for the webinar on 25 April: Nature-led Masterplanning with EcoResponsive Environments

This podcast is a re-upload of my conversation with Prachi Rampuria and Soham De of EcoResponsive Environments from October 2024. We talk about their approach to designing sustainable and resilient new places based on natural systems.

I'll be hosting a free webinar with Prachi and Soham on 25 April on this topic.

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My guest today is Chris Fitch, author of the upcoming book Wild Cities: Discovering New Ways of Living in the Modern Urban Jungle. In this episode we discuss case studies of cities around the world that embrace wilder nature.

We go beyond the usual case studies like Singapore to explore lesser known examples like:

• Tallinn, Estonia - the city with pollinator corridors 
• Tokyo, Japan - mini forests in a hyper-dense city
• Flagstaff, USA...

This episode is a conversation with Stephen Mason, Community Parks Officer at Cheltenham Borough Council. We discuss:

• Urban rewilding projects in Cheltenham - including meadows and orchards
• Reconnecting urban areas with their surrounding landscape
• How the 'rewilding' concept engages communities in biodiversity projects
• Measuring the success of rewilding projects

Don't miss the other episodes in this WILD series: ...

My guests on this episode are Ian Russell and Jamie Kukadia from the watercourses team at London Borough of Enfield. We discuss:

• 'Rewilding Enfield' - rewilding urban streets, parks and rivers.
• Nature-based flood resilience and sustainable drainage versus traditional engineering.
• Reintroducing beavers to London.
• The benefits of conservation livestock grazing in parks and green belt.
• Advice for others who want to take an ur...

In this episode I share 4 tips for effectively communicating about sustainability and climate change with a variety of audiences like clients, collaborators and the public. The four strategies I share are:

• Start with empathy and tailor your message to the audience.
• Lead with a positive narrative.
• Make it tangible and relevant.
• Don't preach. Co-create and facilitate.

Research paper I mention: Bastin et al (2019) Unders...