Author, speaker, and strategist specializing in resourceful solutions for cities and increasing creative capital in individuals and communities.

Below is a sampling of projects I’ve done around the world that explore resourceful solutions for resilient cities. The selection below provides a good overview of how I combine insight, ideas, and strategies into projects, ranging from resourceful urban design, using nature as infrastructure, and the relationship between trust and design:

 

Repurposing existing urban assets to create resilient cities.

Reprogramming the City: Repurposing existing urban assets for new use.

 

Reprogramming the City provides a framework for societal engagement and development within the urban landscape to create more resilient cities. Regardless of income, identity, origin or demographic, everyone shares the physical components of the city. By revealing the untapped potential and innovative additional uses contained in the common elements of the city, barriers for engagement in the future of the city are lowered. People become empowered to share their ideas and apply their own desires and imaginations to their surrounding environment.  – Matti Lucie Arentz, Design and Architecture Norway


 

NatureStructure: Design that Works with Nature to create resilient cities

 

NatureStructure: Design that Works with Nature

NatureStructure reverses the built environment’s battle against nature. Instead of combating natural forces, NatureStructure represents a new generation of innovative natural infrastructure that uses the powers and processes of nature as components, providing a framework for a sustainable and coexistent future for resilient cities.


Reuse of Existing Urban Materials as Design Strategy to create resilient cities

Made of Jesolo: Reuse of Existing Urban Materials as Design Strategy


Trust Design: Can you design trust? Can you trust design?

Trust Design: Can you design trust? Can you trust design?

“Trust is probably the most significant theme of our times. According to Burnham the paradigm has changed. It’s not only design functionality that counts foremost, consumers want to trust that companies and designers have taken care of environmental and social issues as well. Scott Burnham visited the academy various times and had in-depth talks and workshops with the students about trust and design. The results of this period offered a surprising new perspective in the design field, for which I would like to thank Scott Burnham.” – Louise Schouwenberg, Head masters research program Contextual Design, Design Academy Eindhoven


 

Urban Play: Open source urban design interventions

Urban Play: Open source urban design interventions

 

“Burnham’s Urban Play is the most promising experiment, not in urban design, but in designing the urban I have seen so far.” – Aaron Betsky