One of the biggest problems we have in society as a modern civilisation is our tendency to use the scientific method to simplify, silo, and specialise. We use a reductionist mindset to break things down to their smallest parts to focus on problems and solutions, regarding anything else as externalities to the subject. The natural world works in the opposite direction, dealing in the whole, and evolving complexity for higher order of being. As Carol Sanford would say, think of the difference between a car and a cat, you can take the car apart then put it back together and it will still function… the cat, not so much. This is the fundamental difference between regenerative and sustainable development. No amount of sustainable development is going to save us from complete social-ecological collapse, its just not how it functions. Regenerative development works by identifying the essence of a place and working to develop its potential while understanding and connecting its nested position in the larger socio-ecological whole. This is where I fell in love with Community Land Trusts (CLT’s) as a regenerative force of potential. “A community land trust (CLT) is an organisation that provides ongoing affordable housing and other community benefits, usually set up as a private non-profit community organisation…. What makes them unique is their focus on community involvement in or ownership of the organisation, and their focus on balancing the rights of the household with the rights of the broader community or society.” -The Australian Community Land Trust Manual https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/600567/Australian_CLT_Manual.pdf A CLT is a movement for the people, by the people. It is the developer that never goes away, doesn’t extract money, opportunity and resources out of a community, though actively builds strength, connection, and resilience into the community. ‘Designing for Harmony’ is an initiative to empower and educate local communities to self-organise and actualise, and create a regenerative, place-based built environment for the people, by the people. Join the Community