Jonathan Smales
Founder and CEO of Human Nature (Places)
Jonathan is Founder and CEO of Human Nature (Places), a developer of new-generation sustainable places and developments, ranging from new types of village and small-town housing, through large-scale urban neighbourhood regeneration and new settlements. Human Nature’s mission is to provide uplifting, practical answers to the question, ‘How Shall We Live?’ in this second quarter of the 21st-century, inspiring and making it far easier for all to live well and sustainably.
Human Nature seeks to demonstrate that places made well via excellent urbanism and design, with good infrastructures and shared spaces, services and facilities, are one of the most effective tools for addressing social injustice and division. They can enable access for all to good homes, step-change improvements in public health and economic productivity, and squarely address the cost-of-living, climate and nature crises. In fact, our work suggests that taking these challenges head on and translating them into constraints that must be faced and opportunities to be seized are not just the key missions of place but drivers of quality, longevity and sound investment.
We say, ‘there is a far, far better world, but it has to be seen to be believed.’
Jonathan is a geographer, former MD and international trustee of Greenpeace (UK), founder of the Earth Centre landmark millennium project, an experienced consultant working across place, comprehensive sustainability, policy and development strategy (on many of the UK‘s largest, most complex development projects), and entrepreneur. He is a trustee of the Towner galleries, Eastbourne, and lover of wild places in nature and cities.
“This is a fascinating event coming at a time when there is a big push to meet housing need, but in so doing, risk perpetuating place-lessness, adding to the carbon crisis through embodied carbon and missing the opportunity to supercharge the bio-based construction and design sectors”.
https://humannature-places.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-smales-6305414/