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Webinar series "Transitioning towards a regenerative built environment"
Date
10/3/2025
Read time
0
minutes
The built environment is a major driver of climate and resource challenges, accounting for 40% of CO2 emissions, 60% of resource consumption, and 50% of global waste. With urban populations expected to increase by 2.2 billion by 2050, the doubling of building stock under current practices could consume three-quarters of the carbon budget required to meet the 1.5°C climate target set by the Paris Agreement. The sector also highlights significant inequalities, with over one billion people lacking adequate housing and half the global population without access to safely managed sanitation.
Our upcoming publication Transitioning to a Regenerative Built Environment: A Changemaker’s Guide explores the concept of a regenerative built environment, positioning it as an opportunity to address the complex challenges the built environment currently faces. To transition to a regenerative future, the guide underscores the importance of systems thinking as a strategic framework for understanding and addressing the complexity of initiating a shift in the built environment.
Our initial webinar – Transitioning Towards a Regenerative Built Environment, involving professionals and changemakers, primarily from Cape Town, took place in October 2024. The second and third webinars will build on the learnings from the publication, explaining why adopting a collaborative systems approach is key to addressing the challenges, and highlighting the main insights gained from the process.
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We’re excited to announce the following participants and their contributions:
02: Transitioning Towards a Regenerative Built Environment: Insights from Cape Town and Beyond
(Thursday, 20 March 2025, 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm CET)
This webinar will present practical case studies, focusing on settings where the approach advocated in the Changemaker’s Guide could be applicable or where opportunities for mutual learning exist. This session will emphasise actionable examples relevant to African or similar contexts.
Transitioning to a Regenerative Built Environment: A Changemaker’s Guide
- Dr. Gediminas Lesutis (Bauhaus Earth) and Johanna Westermann (Independent researcher and urban designer)
Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture
- Noella Nibakuze (MASS Design Group)
Africa Urban Transformations
- Prof. Dr. Edgar Pieterse (African Centre for Cities)
The discussion will be moderated by Prof. Andrew Boraine (Independent partnering practitioner).
03: Transitioning Towards a Regenerative Built Environment: Innovations from Global Cities
(Wednesday, 26 March 2025, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm CET)
This third webinar features speakers from global cities, particularly city-level initiatives or organisations. This session aims to explore how systemic approaches and lessons from the Changemaker’s Guide can inform policies and strategic urban planning at a larger scale across diverse urban environments worldwide.
Transitioning to a Regenerative Built Environment: A Changemaker’s Guide
- Dr. Gediminas Lesutis (Bauhaus Earth) and Johanna Westermann (Independent researcher and urban designer)
Climate-Resilient Development in the Hindu Kush Himalaya Region
- Erica Udas (The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development)
World Resources Institute
- Speaker (TBC)
The discussion will be moderated by Prof. Dr. Philipp Misselwitz (Bauhaus Earth).
Both webinars will be held in English.
Thank you to our partners, the African Centre for Cities and the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership, for their valuable contributions to this endeavour. Special thanks are also extended to all the participants for their contributions and to the Toni Piëch Foundation for their funding and support.
Register here
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