Time to Get Creative with Regenerative Urban Designs

The more we can infuse urban living with Nature, the better. But we also need to design with global warming in mind.

Hiya!

Nature has inspired, terrified, dazzled, and frustrated humans for as long as we’ve walked the Earth. Nature mystified ancient humans into imagining intricate origin stories of the Sun and Moon and various other natural entities, some of which we still know today as myths, legends, and religions.

Then, someone(s) learned and replicated Nature’s method of growing plants from seeds. Word spread, and the agricultural revolution was born. From there, our species honed and strengthened our desire to dominate, manipulate, and control the natural world in an insatiable manner. Now, we know such a path is not sustainable. It’s time to change our behavior and grow or perish.

Broadening Our Perspective

Part of growth is acknowledging our mistakes and making actionable changes to prevent repeating the same mistake. It’s not easy, but it’s the quickest way to shift our focus to solutions.

Our list of mistakes is long, especially in the West, and it’s high time we change our attitudes and tame our egos. The director of sustainability and physics at Buro Happold, Smith Mordak, warns:

“It’s imperative we recognise that those of us in the Western design community are not the experts. We have much to learn.”

We don’t need to segregate ourselves so strictly from Nature anymore. We’re long past the industrial revolution and are capable of integrating urban design with Nature in sustainable and restorative ways. In fact, many designers, scientists, architects, and other brilliant minds are already finding ways we can work and live with Nature.