#009. The Evolving Place Networker: Michael Mehaffy

Kelvin Campbell and Liam Black talk to Jonathan Smales, executive chairman at Human Nature (Places), a unique development company that is crafting, prototyping, building and learning from work on urban blocks, mixed-use buildings, street types, landscape treatments, energy and mobility systems.Jonathan was MD of Greenpeace (UK), a sustainability advisor to the government, and developed some of the UK’s first major sustainability projects, such as the Earth Centre and Greenpeace HQ. Hands-on with all aspects of the project from masterplanning to policy, engagement and structuring, Jonathan transfers his experience leading and advising on some of the UK’s largest development and regeneration projects to his leadership of Human Nature; he is a champion of deep collaboration and its role in shaping the social imagination – our purpose.

Kelvin Campbell talks to Darshana Gothi Chauhan, founder and CEO of Co-Plug, - architect, urban designer and urban data analytics expert with 14 years of experience of working in the public, private and academic sector linked to the planning and designing of cities. Darshana founded the DesTech Challenge, a unique design and tech competition that brings together creative thinking and digital advancements in the built environment sector. The competition has an outreach of over 200 colleges and universities in South Asia and has helped to upskill students from over 40+ colleges in spatial data analytics. The challenge, supported by the WorldLabs platform has helped to crowdsource geospatial data of open spaces of over 35 cities in South Asia to support the development of data driven design and technical solutions for the planning of healthy cities.

Kelvin Campbell and Isaac Barbosa talk to Jason Roberts, founder of the Better Block, artist, civic activist, and urban designer whose life’s work has been dedicated to the creation of healthy, vibrant, and sustainable neighbourhoods. Jason organized a series of Better Block projects, taking blighted blocks with vacant properties in Dallas and converting them into temporary, walkable districts with pop-up businesses, bike lanes, cafe seating, and landscaping. The project has become an open-sourced international movement occurring everywhere from Melbourne, Australia to Tehran, Iran, and has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Dwell Magazine. Jason has received a Champions of Change award from the U.S. White House, showcased in the 2012 Venice Biennale, and was listed in Planetizen‘s Top 100 Most Influential Urbanists.

Kelvin Campbell and Richard Ingleton talk to Yolande Barnes - researcher, commentator and consultant - Professor at the new Bartlett Real Estate Institute (University College London) - looking at the social, environmental and economic value of the built environment.  Yolande’s job is thinking things about real estate that most people in the industry aren't thinking - yet. She has studied and commented on UK real estate markets for over 30 years and on world cities and global real estate trends for the last 9 years. Her particular speciality has been residential markets, regeneration, land and mixed use neighbourhoods. Her remit now covers all aspects of the built environment and any trend affecting real estate markets across sectors and across the globe - but she still consults on development and place making, usually with a global flavour. You can follow her on twitter @Yolande_Barnes and find most of her writings on the Savills Research website www.savills.co.uk/research/world.

Jeff is the founder of the civic pride consulting firm, Revitalize, or Die, and author of ‘Your City is Sick: How we can improve the economic, social, mental and physical health of millions by treating our cities like people’. After obtaining his Masters in Urban Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University, Jeff went to work on Main Street. First as a downtown manager, and later as the Ohio Main Street State Coordinator. 

Mehaffy is the author of Cities Alive: Jane Jacobs, Christopher Alexander and the Roots of the New Urban Renaissance.[2] The book explores the ideas behind the United Nations’ “New Urban Agenda” to which Mehaffy contributed as a consultant to UN-Habitat.[3] He is also co-author, with Nikos Salingaros, of the 2014 book Design for a Living Planet,[4] a critique of conventional architectural practice and, as they argue, its wider context of a failing technology. He is also the lead author of A New Pattern Language: Places, Networks, Processes, a followup to the 1977 book A Pattern Language: Towns Buildings, Construction, by Christopher Alexander and associates. The new book is described as “a new collection of 80 patterns (that) emerged in part from a five-year collaboration with UN-Habitat to address new urban challenges, including rapid urbanization, slum upgrading, sustainable urbanism, (and) emerging technologies...”

Euan Mills was Head of Digital Planning at Connected Places Catapult where he led a programme of work looking at how new technology can help us plan cities better. His background before this includes 16 years working in the built environment industry. Six of these were spent providing design advice to the Mayor of London and his planning team, contributing towards a number of key planning policy and research documents and negotiating major development proposals on behalf of the Mayor. He also worked as an urban designer at Urban Initiatives, developing masterplans and design codes. He set up the Chatsworth Road Neighbourhood Forum and is a visiting lecturer at a number of universities, and has written articles and spoken at conferences on the impact of technology on cities.

Kelvin Campbell and Liam Black talk to Ruth Ibegbuna, the Founder of RECLAIM, The Roots Programme and the Rekindle School.Ruth is a bold and pioneering CEO, with a relentless focus on working side by side with young people to build a fairer future. She is an expert in encouraging young people to believe in their inherent abilities and to demand the best for themselves and their lives.Ruth was listed in The Sunday Times as one of the 500 most influential people in the UK, in The Debrett’s 500 in 2016. She was also listed by Virgin and Ashoka as one of the top six female change-makers internationally.

As one of the world's leading experts on fragile states, societies, communities, and neighbourhoods, Seth seeks fresh ideas to repair our fragile places. By focusing on improving the underlying social dynamics – social relationships, social capital, and social institutions – he has been effective at advancing conflict resolution, navigating political transitions, community building, and improving neighbourhood health.

Kelvin Campbell and Liam Black talk to Maff Potts, the self-confessed nuisance, jazz musician and Director at Association of Camerados, the public living room people who get together and get each other through tough times. Not to be missed.