Soils matter! Chris Churchman explains how protecting green areas and improving soil quality is crucial for fighting climate change. Chris is a landscape architect and strategist, and the founding Director of Churchman Thornhill Finch landscape architects. As well as having decades of experience designing stunning projects like the gardens of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, Chris is interested in the role of soil in tackling climate change. He joined me to talk about the potential for soil to play a much bigger role in sequestering carbon, how new development on greenfield sites releases a lot more carbon than we currently account for, and some thoughts on urban greening tactics. Follow Chris:https://www.churchmanthornhillfinch.co.uk/Follow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttps://www.instagram.com/greenurbanistpodhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/green-urbanist-podcast- - -Get 10% off Course: Sustainability Essentials for Built Environment ProfessionalsSubscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Contact Ross Website Linkedin

Rachel Hoolahan is an architect and sustainability co-ordinator at Orms Architects, a leading London practice with extensive experience working with existing buildings. For the past few years, the practice has engaged in a series of deep research assignments and is utilising this data and knowledge to push the boundaries of sustainable development – both in refurbishment and new build projects.Recently, she led a research piece on material passports as part of a wider Grosvenor Estate Innovation Project into material reuse. The outcome of this work is a methodology for encouraging more meaningful material reuse, by creating a material database for the project. The approach is deliberately open source and flexible, allowing design teams of any size or skill set to apply the work to their projects.Rachel is the recipient of the 2021 AJ100 Sustainability Champion AwardThis episode covers:What circular economy means for buildings Material passportsBuildings as Material Banks (BAMB)Building a culture of sustainabilityConsumerism and fast fashioned As you may have guessed, this episode is all about Circularity, also called Circular Economy. Rachel explains so clearly why reusing construction and building materials is so important, but also practically how to do it, with examples from her own work. We also talk about how Orms Architects are embedding sustainability in their work culture, which is fascinating. And we end with a discussion on consumerism, the fashion industry and how we need a change in mindset to live within the planet's boundaries.Follow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttps://www.instagram.com/greenurbanistpodhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/green-urbanist-podcast- - -Get 10% off Course: Sustainability Essentials for Built Environment ProfessionalsSubscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Contact Ross Website Linkedin

George is an urban designer at Create Streets, working to create greener, happier and healthier communities. He believes that designers have a key role to play in safeguarding the long-term well-being of communities and our environment through design that recognizes the value of nature, local context and sustainable connectivity. He has a background in human geography and holds a Masters’ in urban design. George works closely with landowners, developers, councils and neighbourhood groups and has experience of working on masterplans for new settlements, urban extensions and brown field sites, at a range of scales both in the U.K. and abroad.Today's episode is all about masterplanning for sustainable places but also beautiful places. I do believe that there is a close connection between beauty and sustainability. Places that are attractive and desirable to be in will stand the test of time, will be preserved and adapted into the future. Whereas places that are ugly or inappropriate, like a lot of mid-century modernist tower blocks and estates, are much more likely to be torn down and replaced, which brings with it a huge waste of materials and carbon emissions.Follow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttps://www.instagram.com/greenurbanistpodhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/green-urbanist-podcast- - -Get 10% off Course: Sustainability Essentials for Built Environment ProfessionalsSubscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Contact Ross Website Linkedin

This episode explains the concept of Doughnut Economics and explores how Amsterdam is using it in its post-Covid recovery.References:https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/25/amsterdam-brussels-bet-on-doughnut-economics-amid-covid-crisis.htmlhttps://www.amsterdam.nl/en/policy/sustainability/circular-economy/https://matchboxstudio.medium.com/designing-the-doughnut-a-story-of-five-cities-8bad04ded5e3https://time.com/5930093/amsterdam-doughnut-economics/Follow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttps://www.instagram.com/greenurbanistpodhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/green-urbanist-podcast- - -Get 10% off Course: Sustainability Essentials for Built Environment ProfessionalsSubscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Contact Ross Website Linkedin

Watch a video of this episode on Conrad's YouTube channel:Conrad is a mobility and climate activist with an international academic and professional background in urban and transport planning, engineering and design across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East. His experiences span the transport spectrum – he has worked on traditional infrastructure projects, such as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as well as on cutting-edge projects, like the RTA Big Data Platform Project in Dubai, UAE. He also lectures in Universities on a wide variety of transport engineering and ‘Future of Mobility’ topics. He is currently based in Cambodia.Conrad travels far and frequently, increasingly off the beaten track... shooting photographs and creating short videos telling the stories of different places, which he shares on his instagram account.Follow Conrad/Urban Dialectic:https://www.linkedin.com/in/conradrichardson/https://www.youtube.com/c/ConradRichardson/videoshttps://www.instagram.com/conrad.richardson/Follow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttps://www.instagram.com/greenurbanistpodhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/green-urbanist-podcast- - -Get 10% off Course: Sustainability Essentials for Built Environment ProfessionalsSubscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Contact Ross Website Linkedin

Scott is an activist, architectural designer, educator and writer. Disgruntled with the lack of focus on sustainability and climate change within architectural education, Scott began the Anthropocene Architecture School, which fuses architectural education, climate literacies and sustainable design - utilising activist media strategies and educational workshops to catalyse and support responses to the Climate and Ecological Emergency from within the construction industry.Scott is someone who is dedicated to getting things done and making a difference. He is incredibly knowledgeable and inspiring.In this episode we talk about:His approach to education and why traditional architectural education is failing studentsThe importance of unlocking urbanist's imagination and agency to create a better futureThe concepts of Regenerative Design and Degrowth and what that means for the built environment.Follow Scott:TwitterLinkedinInstagramLink to Sustainable Transport Course (TUMI):https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/introducing-sustainable-urban-mobilityFollow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttps://www.instagram.com/greenurbanistpodhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/green-urbanist-podcast- - -Get 10% off Course: Sustainability Essentials for Built Environment ProfessionalsSubscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Contact Ross Website Linkedin

 Ran Boydell has studied and practised architecture in the UK and his native Australia for over three decades, with particular emphasis on sustainability, heritage, and rural architecture. Today, Ran is passionate about delivering on zero-carbon targets, implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and working across disciplines and industry sectors to help drive a rapid and radical transition to a sustainable economy. He was a founder of #ArchitectsDeclare in Australia, teaches university courses on sustainable development, and is a pioneer of sustainable homes for the mass market through his "ecohus" brand. Ran's article in The Conversation:https://theconversation.com/most-buildings-were-designed-for-an-earlier-climate-heres-what-will-happen-as-global-warming-accelerates-163672Contact Ran:http://www.ecohus.co.uk/Follow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttps://www.instagram.com/greenurbanistpodhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/green-urbanist-podcastContact the Green Urbanist:greenurbanistpod [at] gmail.com- - -Get 10% off Course: Sustainability Essentials for Built Environment ProfessionalsSubscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Contact Ross Website Linkedin

Dr Hossein Sadri is concerned with making the planet a better place to live and works as an activist, designer, writer, and teacher to create this change. He is the co-founder of De-Urban Design Studio; the design laboratory that reimagines human settlements as ethical, ecological, and equitable living habitats. He also teaches architecture at Coventry University.We talk about:The concept of De-Urban designWhy we need a radical paradigm shift to solve the challenges of climate change and ecological destructionThinking in the long term and building for multiple generationsAnd what we can learn from indigenous cultures. Follow Hossein:https://deurban.org/https://ecodemia.org.uk/https://twitter.com/hosadriFollow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttps://www.instagram.com/greenurbanistpodhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/green-urbanist-podcastContact the Green Urbanist:greenurbanistpod [at] gmail.com- - -Get 10% off Course: Sustainability Essentials for Built Environment ProfessionalsSubscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Contact Ross Website Linkedin

Balazs is founder of Green Urbanics, marketplace and blog for innovative, nature-based, urban sustainability solutions. He has a long career in business development and innovation, but with a background in ecology. His mission is to support regenerative businesses and bring the best solutions to city governments so they can quickly deploy them and take action on climate change.Innovative Solutions mentioned in the episode:Low Tech:ancient architecture solutions - latticed screens, buildings painted white, covered with green roofs and vines, cooling ponds, using the wind and nature’s other means of regulating airflow and one of my personal favorites featured on Green Urbanics Business Livecast on June 24: https://greencitysolutions.de/en/saving pollinators by not mowing that often, leaving wildflower patches // reforestation in urban settingsGreen Pees of Urban Senses High Tech:Green Fluidics using algae strains and nanofluidics to help regulate building temperaturesAI supported drones picking up garbage on waterways (RanMarine’s Wasteshark) or building energy efficiency (Enerbrain)IoT enabled indoor farming and precision agriforestryperovskite-based transparent solar filmTech for Mindset Shift:evoccoInchaingeUCapture and ReforestFollow Balazs:https://www.linkedin.com/in/balazs-erdei/Follow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttps://www.instagram.com/greenurbanistpodhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/green-urbanist-podcastContact the Green Urbanist:greenurbanistpod [at] gmail.com- - -Get 10% off Course: Sustainability Essentials for Built Environment ProfessionalsSubscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Contact Ross Website Linkedin

Nadina is an ecological engineer, technologist, and entrepreneur dedicated to working with urban ecologists and planners to apply today’s technology to improve urban ecosystems for future generations of city dwellers. She also runs an excellent podcast called the Internet of Nature, which I highly recommend.In this episode we talk about:What is the Internet of NatureHow to use technology to ensure better tree survival rates in citiesAnd the role of technology in connecting city residents to nature.I am always a bit skeptical of the idea of smart cities and relying on technology too much to solve our problems. But Nadina explains really well how digital technology can be a vital tool in an era of a changing climate. How we can use existing technology to learn about urban ecosystems and make better decisions.Follow Nadina and The Internet of Nature Podcast:https://www.nadinagalle.com/https://www.nadinagalle.com/podcasthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/nadinagalle/https://twitter.com/earthtonadinahttps://www.instagram.com/internetofnature_/?hl=enFollow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttps://www.instagram.com/greenurbanistpodhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/green-urbanist-podcast- - -Get 10% off Course: Sustainability Essentials for Built Environment ProfessionalsSubscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Contact Ross Website Linkedin