Dr Brian O'Ceallaigh is a clinical psychologist working for the national health service in England and he also happens to be my brother. I sat down with him to discuss how climate anxiety and climate despair are perfectly healthy responses to the crisis we are facing and how you can manage these feelings through positive action, acceptance and mindfulness practice. We also discuss some of the ways our psychology gets in the way of taking action on climate change and keeps us in the status quo. 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 is a conversation with Alice Schmidt.Alice is an advisor, advocate and author on global sustainability & social transformation. Amongst other things, she is an adviser to organisations like the European Commission and Extinction Rebellion and lectures at Vienna University.She is the author of a new book, The Sustainability Puzzle, which explores how systems thinking, circularity, climate action and social transformation can improve health, wealth and wellbeing for all.We talk about all these topics and more.Find out more about Alice and the book:https://www.sustainability-puzzle.org/www.linkedin.com/in/aliceschmidthttp://www.aliceschmidt.at/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 is the first episode in an ongoing series exploring the work of London National Park City Rangers. I go 'in the field' to to meet Rangers Luke Newcombe and Charles Linton in Wood Green, North London, to see some urban greening interventions first hand:Green public space at Wood Green LibraryGreen roofsThe borough's first Parklet/Pocket ParkNature ReserveLuke also gives advice for how you can start greening your own neighbourhood.Luke runs GrowN22, a Community Interest Company dedicated to transforming unlikely, disused and neglected spaces and gardens across Haringey into vibrant community gardens and growing spaces made for and by local people.Charles works in outdoor education and is a self-professed invertebrate nerd.Learn more about London National Park City and GrowN22:https://grown22.com/ https://www.nationalparkcity.london/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

An introduction to the concept of Systems Thinking and how it is essential for understanding and taking action on climate change.  This episode is inspired by the book Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows. It covers:What is Systems Thinking?How to get started thinking in systemsSystem structure - stocks, flows and loopsLeverage points for changing systemsFollow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttps://www.instagram.com/greenurbanistpodhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/green-urbanist-podcastReferenceshttps://www.climateinteractive.org/ci-topics/systems-thinking/https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/how-feedback-loops-are-making-climate-crisis-worsehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3828902-thinking-in-systemshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29214420-doughnut-economics?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ACzKLhIr9Q&rank=1- - -Get 10% off Course: Sustainability Essentials for Built Environment ProfessionalsSubscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Contact Ross Website Linkedin

Today's episode is a conversation with Arthur Kay, Founder and CEO of Skyroom and Bio Bean, and Chair of the Key Workers Homes Fund.Skyroom is an award-winning technology and urban development company which delivers precision-manufactured homes in the airspace above existing buildings. Their mission is to improve the lives of key workers by delivering affordable, sustainable, beautiful homes near where they work. They aim to create 10,000 homes for key workers in London by 2030 by building above existing buildings.We speak about:The unique challenges of densifying cities by building additional storeys above existing buildings.Why living in cities is much more sustainable than living in the countryside.Why cities will emerge stronger after the Pandemic. Circular economy and the role of biofuels in transitioning to Zero Carbon.Learn more about Arthur, Skyroom and Bio Bean:https://skyroom.london/https://www.bio-bean.com/https://twitter.com/arthurkay_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

Jake is Sustainable Design Advisor at Hawkins\Brown where he led the development of the free open-source Hawkins Brown Emissions Reduction Tool, also referred to as H\B:ERT, which is a whole life carbon calculation tool. Jake works across all project stages; developing and reviewing key sustainability strategies and targets. His work is at the boundary between architecture and engineering; working with passive design techniques to create comfort in buildings before using modern technology where it counts.In the episode Jake and I discuss:The practicalities of achieving net zero carbon by 2050Taking an evidence based approach to designing zero carbon buildingsThe challenges of retrofitting existing buildings for energy efficiency, andWhy it is essential that Architects are trained and educated in sustainable design principles.Heads up on some terminology we use:Whole Life Carbon: an approach to designing buildings that takes into account emissions from the building's entire life, including construction and operation. So, it's the most accurate way of assessing actually how many emissions are associated with a building.We also talk about Hawkins Browns' Revit Plugin for assessing carbon emissions. If you don't know, Revit is basically a 3d modelling software used by architects and engineers, which has a database built in so you can store data in the model. Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions: Scope 1 relates to emissions directly from burning fossil fuels. Scope 2 relates to indirect emissions from energy use. And Scope 3 relates to embodied emissions, in this case from building materials. Learn more about Hawkins/Brown:https://www.hawkinsbrown.com/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

Today's episode is a conversation with Jonny McKenna and Dhruv Sookhoo of Metropolitan Workshop, a leading practice of architects and urban designers based in London and Dublin. Jonny McKenna is Director of their Dublin office, an architect and urban designer and has played a lead role in masterplanning and residential projects since joining Metropolitan Workshop in 2006.Dhruv Sookhoo is Head of Research and Practice Innovation at Metropolitan Workshop. He is both a chartered Architect and town planner, and a social researcher.The focus of our conversation today is suburbia. As urbanists we can sometimes be dismissive or snobbish about the suburbs, and often they are portrayed as being unsustainable and soulless places. However, the fact is that they still remain the residential typology of choice for many people in cities. If we want to reconsider the suburbs for modern life and the era of climate change, we need to think about them quite honestly and openly.Metropolitan Workshop have been designing suburban development and challenging the status quo for years, and they have just finished a long research project on the topic called A New Kind of Suburbia, that brings together their thinking approach with a broad range of perspectives. In this episode, Jonny and Dhruv reflect on what are some aspects of the suburbs we would want to replicate in future and what aspects need to be reconsidered. They then provide some ideas on how we could reimagine the suburbs as mixed, sustainable communities with a great quality of life, particularly in the post-covid world.Towards the end of the podcast, they offer some advice for other practitioners who want to engage in practice-based research and how this can benefit their work.Metropolitan Workshop:https://metwork.co.uk/Reshaped Podcast: https://metwork.co.uk/prospects/reshaped/A New Kind of Suburbia: https://metwork.co.uk/research/a-new-kind-of-suburbia/Social Media:https://www.linkedin.com/company/metropolitan-workshop/https://www.instagram.com/met_work/https://twitter.com/Met_WorkFollow 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

Today's episode is a conversation with Virginia Cinquemani.Virginia is the founder and director of Green Gorilla Consultants, a unique training and coaching company focusing exclusively on empowering sustainability professionals to become the most confident and assertive version of themselves, and to successfully accomplish their sustainability projects even when their stakeholders think sustainability is a waste of time and money!Virginia is a qualified architect, project manager and BREEAM AP, with a life long passion for sustainability.She is the author of SustainABLE: How to Find Success as a Sustainability Professional in a Rapidly Changing World, a practical guide for those that have a passion for sustainability but cannot make an impact.In this episode Virginia shares advice for anyone who is trying to integrate sustainability into their work and projects but is coming up against barriers. So whether you are just starting out on your sustainability journey or you're an experienced professional, this episode is relevant for you.Virginia explains how we can better communicate about sustainability, and how we can sell sustainable solutions to clients by appealing to their needs and concerns. This episode is all about the soft skills that we a professionals need every day beyond technical knowledge.She also gives advice for urbanists who don't necessarily have a sustainability background but who want to bring sustainability into their work. The key message is: just get started, no matter how small or imperfect your first steps are, just get started because we need everyone working towards this.Learn more about Virginia and Green Gorilla Consultants:https://www.thegreengorilla.co.uk/https://www.linkedin.com/in/virginiacinquemani/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

 Liza is a business consultant, social innovator and advocate for regenerative economy. She's a member of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership network and has extensive experience working in several industries and countries as project manager and consultant. Today she runs her own business called 4D Sustainability helping small and medium businesses on their sustainability journey. She and her co-founder developed a simplified methodology that enables small companies to adopt sustainability measures, as she believes that without small and medium enterprises on board the transition to net zero and better future will not be possible. We talk about:The huge role that small and medium businesses can play in achieving sustainabilityWhy sustainability must address social issuesRegenerative economyThe UN Sustainable Development Goals, and how Liza uses these to help businesses take actionCarbon pricing and putting a price a environmental degradationLearn more about Liza and 4D Sustainability:https://sustainability-canvas.com/https://www.linkedin.com/company/4d-sustainability-canvas/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

James grows urban forests around the UK with his company Wild Urban Spaces and with rewilding organisation SUGi. He is an expert in the use of the Miyawaki Method of afforestation, which is a Japanese approach to rapidly creating healthy, native forest ecosystems, and can be applied to small sites in urban contexts. In this episode we discuss:The Miyawaki MethodThe Forest of Thanks, a Miyawaki forest recently planted in London to express gratitude to NHS workers during the pandemicHow trees make it rain and also alleviate floodingThe mystery of Biodynamics in soilTrees as tsunami defense And lots more!Contact James:https://wildurbanspaces.com/https://www.sugiproject.com/Follow the Green Urbanist:https://twitter.com/GreenUrbanPodhttps://www.instagram.com/greenurbanistpodhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/green-urbanist-podcastContact the Green Urbanist:greenurbanistpod@gmail.com- - -Get 10% off Course: Sustainability Essentials for Built Environment ProfessionalsSubscribe to the Green Urbanist Newsletter Contact Ross Website Linkedin