Will exposure to heterotopic spaces get the fleas out of the jar?

It’s been another one of those weeks where I’ve heard a lot about the enormous challenges we face, the need for big changes and big transformations. It all leaves me feeling a bit… meh! It’s all well and good telling people that they need to transform, but how exactly? Do we have the necessary skills? […]

Innovation Urban Myths and Bootlegging as an Immunosuppressant

I love a good story. What I mean is the messy, unpolished and authentic stories people tell about real life. The stories I don’t like are the ones manufactured as part of ‘corporate storytelling’. To engage staff, get a message across, change culture (ha ha ha ha!), ‘sell’ the need for change or indeed ‘sell’ […]

Far, Far Away Land Syndrome

Life in Far, Far Away Land is so much better than here… I’ve been watching a lot of Shrek recently. I’ve also been attending seminars and learning about good practice through the medium of beautifully presented case studies. For anyone not familiar with Shrek, it’s your classic fairy tale. Everything we need in a good […]

Homologation Special! Regulation *can* Drive Innovation.

But, it depends… Whether or not a regulation process (including inspection, audit and any other ‘control’ method you can think of) actually ‘drives’ innovation depends on a lot of things. For me, the biggest influence is ‘purpose’. If your main purpose is to ‘enforce’ compliance with clearly defined rules or standards it could be a […]

What does the Military have to do with Net Zero?

Quite a lot as it happens. But first, consider this… Fleet Oaks. Fleet Oaks is the name given to oak trees that are planted with the sole purpose of providing the building material (wood, specifically oak) required for naval ships. Growing oak trees isn’t a quick enterprise. My interest was triggered by a recent Tweet […]

Sneckdowns. The Ultimate; Desire Paths, Snowfall and User Centered Design Combo.

Desire Paths, and then some… You’ve probably heard of Desire Paths, the darling/nemesis of Urban Planners. The informal, beaten earth, muddy paths that pedestrians (people) create because they work for them. They are where the locals (people on the ground) have chosen to walk. Typically in different places to where the Architects, Engineers and Planners […]