Key Insights

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  Sacred civics calls for radical imagination and transformational change centered on cities as key sites of societal transformation.

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  The seventh generation principle urges long-term planning accountable to descendants seven generations into the future.

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  Cities today are organized in silos that fail to address interconnected systemic challenges holistically.

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  Hybrid governance models combining official government structures with civic innovation labs and assemblies can bridge traditional and visionary approaches.

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  Social and civic innovation empower residents, especially historically marginalized people, to reshape urban governance from the bottom up.

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  Major urban investments often reflect outdated short-term priorities and jurisdictions, illustrating the need for systemic change.

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  Networks of cities offer political cover and learning spaces needed to pilot and scale sustainable and equitable innovations.

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  Practices like micro treaties with the Earth reimagine relationships with land as self-sovereign rather than mere property.

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  Embedded Indigenous teachings such as the seven grandfathers provide foundational ethical values to reorient urban governance and planning.

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  Legal frameworks like Wales’s Wellbeing of Future Generations Act illustrate how sustainability principles can be institutionalized.

Notable Quotes