Are metaphors useful when real life intrudes on their original power as a pattern framer? Colony Collapse Disorder For instance (almost a decade ago) when I coined the term “Human Hive” as a metaphor for the living, evolutionary human system of the city, it predated many life events that have since occurred. Perhaps [...]
I am curious how many readers think of themselves as belonging to a Human Hive? Human Hive I wonder how many people reading this blog keep or have kept bees (or have seen beekeepers at work)? Or have a role that contributes to the wellbeing and functioning of the [...]
This newsletter is published quarterly using a cycle of perspectives on the Integral City viewed from: Planet, People, Place and Power. The theme of this issue is People. International developer Gail Hochachka proposes that people’s feelings, beliefs and worldviews affect how they are ready and willing to participate in sustainable behaviors (2005, p. 1). Moreover, she [...]
Pope Francis thinks as big as a Planet of Integral Cities. Pope Francis has gifted the world with a Kosmic view of the environment and the implications for climate change. He instructs the faithful that God has not given dominion to man to dominate the environment but to respect all Life. He explicates what Integral [...]
When Integral City is asked to work with cities, inevitably the invitation comes from leaders who have in mind the wellbeing of their city. Integral City Compass Tam Lundy’s leadership tip (offered in Integral Leadership Review – Canada Issue offered a Leadership Tip on Generative Change) explains this impulse in terms of the desire of [...]
Out beyond the smart city, out beyond the resilient city, Lives the Integral City. Integral City Thinking Integral Leadership Review – Canada Issue offered a Leadership Tip on Generative Change, by Tam Lundy, that acted as a Guide to appreciating all the articles. Tam’s Tip gave the reader an energy boost as you passed [...]
Humans and the cities we have created are permanently locked into a never-ending learning cycle, to create ever more complex adaptations to protect increasingly more complex cities. In the Integral City 2.0 Online Conference (2012), five critical threats to human populations in cities were identified: climate, energy, water, food and finance (Hamilton et al., 2013; [...]
Lessons from history abound to warn us that the shift involved in moving from one worldview, or system of intelligibility, to another, is unlikely to be smooth or easy. (Brian and Mary Nattrass, Integral Leadership Review – January- February 2015) Urban Metabolism http://sustainablecommunities.environment.ucla.edu/2011/07/energy-baselines-the-urban-metabolism-of-los-angeles-county/ Today in thinking about our Evolutionary Crossroads in the city [...]
International Organization for Standards (ISO) has announced a new standard for quality of life in cities. ISO City Standard (retrieved from http://conference.cityminded.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Patricia_McCarney_PDF.pdf) In London, UK on November 17-18, 2014, ISO in conjunction the World Council on City Data (WCCD) launches the the first international standard for sustainable cities, ISO 37120: Sustainable development of communities [...]
I am truly awed with the announcement that the European Space Agency has finessed a washing machine sized lander on the ubiquitous Comet 67P/C. Philae on Comet (retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30034060) That’s like driving a hole-in-one to a comet not much larger than an earth-sized 4 km golf course – but with a drive that [...]