Cities should be designed to be not only ecologically sustainable, not only 'smart'. Not only, rich in life, in the provision of services, not only safe, healthy, and enjoyable. Cities are the most common human habitat. They are the most common provider of nature experiences on the planet. They provide the everyday nature experiences that over time shape how we think and feel how we should relate to nature. For most of the world population. Because of that, the green infrastructure is an outstanding opportunity to shape a mindset that can support a sustainable culture and society.
In 2010, I began collaborating with architecture firms to bridge social-ecological sustainability and high-quality urban design. This line of work started with EuroPan10 (European competition of architecture) by implementing resilience and social-ecological systems theory. The first project ("Entities in Relation") was selected among 200 other entries to be finalist for the competition. The second ("A Resilient Social-Ecological Urbanity: the Case Study of Henna, Finland") received an honourable mention and was published by the German academy for city development and landscape planning.
After these few successes I decided to better understand the psychological foundations of sustainable lifestyles. In 2018, I completed my education with a PhD in Sustainability Science titled "Home for future Earth lovers: foundations of nature-connecting habitats for children". Now, I'm again looking for collaborations with architecture firms to put this work into practice. The goal, is to design a human habitat that is not only ecologically sustainable, but that is sufficiently nature-rich to shape a share sustainable mindset. That is, creating a space that support a sustainable culture.
In the news:
"Resilience meets architecture and urban planning" Resilience Alliance
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