City Nestmaking

In this episode, six ideas and eight suggestions to be response-ABLE at any scale of emergency.  As the scale of emergency grows ( E23 ), the ability of a community to be proactive, responsive and response-ABLE becomes imperative. As the scale of crisis grows from a sprint rescue event to an ultramarathon season, including sprint rescues, it is also imperative to differentiate between the dif...

I had an “allergic reaction” this summer to some language people around me are using to invite climate action: “be a first responder.” And so, I sit and write as a means to scratch the itch. What I found: As the scale of emergency grows, the ability of community to be proactive, responsive and response-ABLE becomes imperative. Illustrations created for this episode can be found here .  Links...

Beth Sanders and Luis Patricio discuss bicycles to explore mobility and privilege in cities. With his first realization in Brazil that a bicycle IS a means to move around the city, Luis started advocating for a bike-to-work program at work. Bicycling has become a part of his identity and a full part of his paid and unpaid work to improve cities. Some simple questions to unpack mobility privilege:...

6 questions to ask at any time in your career in Beth's address to the Master of City Planning graduates at the University of Manitoba, June 2021. Images created for this episode can be found here . 

When we use technology like Zoom, even with a panel presentation, when we choose to allow participants to see each other we are allowing the community that has gathered to see each other and make further contact with itself. We choose to enable, rather than disable, community agency. Illustrations created for this episode can be found here .  

The new diagrams we use to describe our economic, social and ecological habitats reveal connections and understanding. Images created for this episode can be found here .   Resources:   Kate Raworths's book: Doughnut Economics: 7 Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist   The course: Foundations of Doughnut Economics    Discount code for the course: enter CORD...

Let’s release the binary ways we define city planning practice and grow our relationship skills (for the official and unofficial planners out there). Images created for this episode can be found in this article. 

9 practices to see, acknowledge and respond to our uneasy world. Images created for this article can be found in this article . 

The choice at hand for each of us: Which infection do I choose to spread? The anger and frustration that comes with fight drama, or the generative possibility that comes with exploring conflict? Images created for this episode can be found in this article . 

As Mother’s Day approaches, I want to be more aware of how my behaviour erodes the growth of younger people in my life, especially when I am feeling challenged, hurt, or left behind. Images created for this episode can be found in this article .  For more information about Edward Kelly and The Third Act:  Kelly, Edward. "Introducing the Third Act of Life." The Third Act. Accessed May 4,...

Beth Sanders and Dustin Bajer celebrate Earth Week with a conversation about how the city habitats we create for ourselves make ecological contributions to our planet, Earth. What happens when we think of cities as a part of nature or even a product of nature? What happens when we think about urban agriculture and food forests, and urban tree nurseries in the city? Dustin Bajer works to improve hi...

When it comes to improving our cities, we do not each need to be everywhere at once. We do not even need to have the same priorities because we benefit, individually and collectively, from simultaneously addressing multiple challenges. In this episode, I describe 8 choices I see for myself about how I participate in city life, from being oblivious, a spectator, or an active part of efforts to impr...

Making room for equitable transportation choices involves being open to meeting the movement needs of many. Photos, and images created for this episode, can be found in this article .  

The opposite of lockdown behaviour, which has us operating from fear and insecurity, is connection and relationship. Instead of withdrawing from community life, we contribute; we care out in the open. Protection feeds my fear of other humans. Being neighbourly feeds my desire to connect with other humans. Images for this episode can be found in this article . 

Mutual agency fosters sovereignty in self and others because it means actively looking to work with others who have different views. Mutual agency enables a generosity that seeds our regenerative future. Images for this episode can be found in this article . 

Beth Sanders and Jason Syvixay investigate how their locational, gender, sexual orientation, age and racial identities shape their experience of cities, their work as city planners and implications for the planning profession. (Note: you don’t have to be a city planner to enjoy this conversation!) Jason Syvixay believes that cities need to foster a culture that balances the voices of the loudest a...

In my quest to figure out how planners and everyone else in the city can work better together, I’ve learned the magic of finding the minimal critical structure that enables new possibilities. Images created for this episode can be found in this article . 

Beth Sanders and Soni Dasmohapatra explore heritage, health, hibernation and the creation of community that learns together. Soni Dasmohapatra builds inclusive platforms for transformative change. She works with individuals, public service institutions and community agencies to develop tools that incorporate strategy, design, wellness and art. You can find Soni at www.sonidasmohapatra.com. And you...

Improving our cities requires us to be in a better relationship with ourselves: our intentions, actions, and the consequences of our actions. Images created for this episode can be found in this article . 

Beth Sanders and Hilary Van Welter explore Alice in Wonderland's Mad Hatter's Tea Party, only to understand that disruption and clarity co-exist.  Hilary is CEO of the Ascentia Collaborative, a place of exploration, experimentation and enterprise. She believes that the clues to a wonderful future are hidden in plain sight. Hilary thrives at the intersections of disciplines as a designer and l...

The implementation of Edmonton’s city plan requires a culture change—inside and outside city hall. And it all hinges on how we handle accountability and shame. Images created for this episode can be found in this article . 

Our evolutionary journey—our resilience and adaptability—depends on our ability generate new kinds of work, new ways of thinking, making and doing new things.

I am part of the culture that propagates this old story: we settler people are better than Indigenous people. Images created for this episode can be found in this article . 

How a speaking engagement shifted from city “building for” women to city “making with” women. Images created for this episode can be found in this article .