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The current scientific paradigm of reductionism separates humans from Nature. Regeneration corrects this error by viewing humans as immanent in Nature, evolving with it and within it. A regenerative approach, that is alignment with Nature’s living-systems principles, is necessary if human-created artefacts and structures (physical, mental, etc.) are not to have destructive effects in Nature.
At RII, our definition of regeneration is:
Regeneration is about ensuring that today’s structures will support life tomorrow
in all its vitality and heterogeneity,
because today’s structures will become tomorrow’s infrastructures.
We feel that the formality and intentionality that the practice of design brings is necessary for regenerative implementations. Unfortunately, in climate action as an example, the implementation tends to follow engineering practice (top-down, reductionist). This usually takes the form of collecting system-level data, then constructing and deploying the solution in a top-down manner, with minimal thought given to the context.
Regenerative design, on the other hand, is about bringing the intentionality of design to creating the conditions for regeneration (human de-centered, holistic). This means, at the very least, deeply understanding and sensing the context for emergent effects, incorporating a plurality of viewpoints simultaneously, learning and adapting continuously while considering both top-down triggers and bottom-up agency, and most importantly, always keeping healthy relationships at the core of the practice. From a reductionist standpoint, keeping such a breadth and depth of factors and patterns in-hand is a computationally enormous task.
There are, however, other approaches where these ‘computations’ are natural. These approaches are based on holistic thinking, which keep relationships (interconnectedness) and patterns at their centre, and where life itself is known to be an emergent property arising from relationships. We can find these approaches in cultures that are grounded in holism such as indigenous people’s and Eastern cultures.
An example of a regenerative design : Curitiba in Brazil
A wonderful example of regenerative design is the city of Curitiba in Brazil. Curitiba was suffering from years of neglect and a wave of incoming populations. Traffic congestion, unsanitary conditions, crime and distrust in government were on the rise. Proposals to revitalise the city generally followed the lines of copying other major cities: wider streets, high-rise buildings, traffic flyovers, etc. Architect Jaime Lerner (JL) proposed an approach based on honouring the city’s history and embracing its natural landscape features. After being elected mayor, he put together a process which incorporated the following key differentiating principles that resulted in Curitiba being regarded as one of the most successful regenerative urban developments:
Seeing the Living-System: JL and his team saw Curitiba as a living-system with its people, communities, trees and rivers - with its own heartbeat, history, nature, culture and values, and interacted with the city with that understanding. In contrast, the conventional approach would have seen Curitiba as a project - a collection of problems that had to be solved by using available financial, natural, human and technological resources.
Balancing Potential and Needs: JL and his team first and foremost worked on realising the potential of Curitiba, which meant developing a deep understanding and care for the city - its people, nature, culture, dreams, etc. and honouring these in the vision they worked towards. They balanced this key visioning work with on‐the‐ground pragmatism that answered the needs of the city.
Less Resources, More Resourcefulness: JL and his team minimised their reliance on outside resources and instead harnessed solutions that elevated the creativity and resourcefulness of the people and place.
Generating a Culture of Co-Responsibility: JL and his team embraced collaboration as a key value, developed programs and projects in partnership with the city’s habitants - which resulted in shared effort and responsibility for their success.
Continuous Learning and Adapting: JL and his team incorporated learning and adapting as a key principle of their design process.
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