Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Summary
In Sacred Civics: Building Seven Generation Cities, Jayne Engle and Tanya Chung-Tiam-Fook assemble visions for how spirituality and sacred values are essential for reimagining how we live, organize and govern ourselves, determine and distribute wealth, inhabit and design cities, and construct relationships with others and nature. Join us for a discussion with Jayne and Tanya on what it looks like to design for the next seven generations. Optional: read Sacred Civics: Building Seven Generation Cities in print or open access!
Key Insights
-
•
Sacred civics calls for radical imagination and transformational change centered on cities as key sites of societal transformation.
-
•
The seventh generation principle urges long-term planning accountable to descendants seven generations into the future.
-
•
Cities today are organized in silos that fail to address interconnected systemic challenges holistically.
-
•
Hybrid governance models combining official government structures with civic innovation labs and assemblies can bridge traditional and visionary approaches.
-
•
Social and civic innovation empower residents, especially historically marginalized people, to reshape urban governance from the bottom up.
-
•
Major urban investments often reflect outdated short-term priorities and jurisdictions, illustrating the need for systemic change.
-
•
Networks of cities offer political cover and learning spaces needed to pilot and scale sustainable and equitable innovations.
-
•
Practices like micro treaties with the Earth reimagine relationships with land as self-sovereign rather than mere property.
-
•
Embedded Indigenous teachings such as the seven grandfathers provide foundational ethical values to reorient urban governance and planning.
-
•
Legal frameworks like Wales’s Wellbeing of Future Generations Act illustrate how sustainability principles can be institutionalized.
Notable Quotes
"We are called to higher order responsibilities and accountabilities to future generations and ecosystems."
"Cities are the largest systems of systems that we actually build as humanity, and we cannot separate housing from everything else."
"The seventh generation principle speaks to long-term decision making and provisioning for the common good."
"Hybrid forms of governance could include a civic assembly with representatives for future generations led by a mayor for the future."
"Social innovation strengthens collective agency and power of residents to shift decision making from governments and corporations."
"Proofs of possibility—deep demonstration projects—show what transformation in cities can actually look like."
"Networks of cities provide political cover and co-learning spaces necessary for transformational urban change."
"We need to reclaim sacred values like love, respect, bravery, and humility to embed them in our institutions and practices."
"Most urban investments today steal from future generations rather than sustaining them."
"Participatory and systemic social infrastructure enables marginalized communities to transform their neighborhoods and cities."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Scale isn’t just about quantity, it’s about the quality and impact you have on the outcomes of the organization."
Standardizing Product Merits for Leaders, Designers, and Everyone
June 15, 2018
"Most strategy today is guesswork based on what others are doing, not based on situational awareness."
Simon WardleyMaps and Topographical Intelligence (Videoconference)
January 31, 2019
"Bias is a tendency, feeling or opinion for or against something without reason or evidence."
Sandra CamachoCreating More Bias-Proof Designs
January 22, 2025
"By observing Jeff’s concerns and asking questions, I was able to show empathy and focus on the problem rather than get defensive."
Darian DavisLessons from a Toxic Work Relationship
January 8, 2024
"After each interview, I input the transcript into ChatGPT and ask for three key takeaways that I can quickly share with stakeholders."
Fisayo Osilaja[Demo] The AI edge: From researcher to strategist
June 4, 2024
"The seven-foot-wide diagram showed the product’s true complexity, sparking necessary conversations with leadership."
Uday GajendarThe Wicked Craft of Enterprise UX
May 13, 2015
"Trust is often underestimated but is critical when designers face public critique and feedback."
Davis Neable Guy SegalHow to Drive a Design Project When you Don’t Have a Design Team
June 10, 2021
"Launching a design system is not a sprint, there’s no end, it’s always a continuous process."
Eniola OluwoleLessons From the DesignOps Journey of the World's Largest Travel Site
October 24, 2019
"The operational glue that binds strategy, execution, and measurement in design is often missing, and that’s critical for scaling."
Aurobinda Pradhan Shashank DeshpandeIntroduction to Collaborative DesignOps using Cubyts
September 9, 2022