Lifeworlds [Full Interview] Urban Ecologies - with John Thackara
John Thackara is a writer, curator and professor who develops design agendas for ecological restoration, urban-rural reconnection, and multi-species design.
He curated the celebrated Doors of Perception conference for 20 years, first in Amsterdam and later across India; he was commissioner of the UK social innovation biennial Dott 07, and the French design biennial City Eco Lab; and in 2019, he curated the Urban-Rural expo in Shanghai. His last book was How To Thrive In the Next Economy: Designing Tomorrow’s World Today.
Here we discuss...
- Why more information about the climate crisis just won’t cut it anymore
- How designers can experiment with the presence of microbial lives in their cities
- The phenomenon of weed watching and why it’s gone viral
- Celebrity hen and mango farmers in China who have broken down the rural-urban divide
- Placefulness as a doorway into caring
- How a giant consulting firm could better design their employee sustainability programme (hint: it involves having real tasks to do)
- Ecosystem restoration camps and place-based summer schools
- The failings of snazzy car insulation made from mycelium
- And more ;)
Show Links:
- John’s website
- Design for Multi Species Cities
- Regenerative Empathy Paper
- Sugi Project
- Back to the Land Summer School
- Urban Rural Connection in China
- Internet of nature
Look out for meditations, poems, readings, and other snippets of inspiration in between episodes.
Photo Credit: Jason Klassi via Getty Images
Music: Electric Ethnicity by Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock, Ellie Kidd
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