No Regenerative Urban Future Without Leaving the Chicken Coop

In our previous blog post, we explored the shift from fortresses of fear to castles of connection, places where walls no longer serve to defend, but to welcome. The journey doesn't end there, however. Staying too long within the fortress can turn comfort into another form of confinement. For leaders in urban settings – such as developers, municipalities, builders, property managers, and investors – this is a crucial lesson. Systems designed for safety, productivity, and efficiency often become rigid fortresses that fail to adapt to changing circumstances. The regenerative path demands more: letting go, taking a leap, and ascending. It's not about adding a new sustainability feature to an existing framework. It's about leaving the chicken coop you have grown accustomed to by committing to a comprehensive transformation that makes you fit for purpose.

Breaking the Old Mould and Holding the Flame

Every journey begins with letting go. Urban environments must abandon the "bread and circus" mindset that focuses on fragmented growth, minimising harm, ESG reporting, and cosmetic greening that entertains but makes us impotent and numb. Letting go is never easy. It feels uncomfortable to step outside ingrained beliefs or let go of the myth that success requires endless responsibility while freedom diminishes. But this is the call: stop proving value through fragmented, linear measurements. Burn the boats that tie us to the extractive shore.

Yet the victim archetype whispers: You are too small to change entire systems. Stay in the chicken coop; don't fly. By addressing these lies, we compost them into fertile soil for urban renewal. Every regenerative project encounters resistance. This is naïve. Too expensive. Too complex. Impossible. Cutting edge. But regeneration cannot be defeated; it endures. Like rivers eroding valleys, this movement is patient and unstoppable, gradually shaping obstacles and stones, just as a river does. The archetypes of heroes and heroines are emerging in our industry: vulnerable yet fierce, youthful yet vintage. The spirit of a child sparks curiosity and play, while seasoned wisdom and new stories that expand our horizons offer perspective. Both are essential to bridge the gap and realise these groundbreaking visions.

Liechtensteinklamm, Austria | 2025

New Maps, Abundance and Becoming Earth Keepers

From the fire of resistance, a blank page arises. Old maps decay – linear master plans, outdated financial logic, and rigid zoning. Internal landscapes transform. The art of completion—closure, composting, wintering—prepares the soil. Like eroded mountains and reborn rivers, urban systems sometimes must demolish old structures to make space for new ones. What seems like regression is actually restoration: a spiral back to wholeness. Scarcity is an illusion. Our economic and planning models teach us to think in terms of scarcity, ownership, finance, and resources. Yet life itself is abundant when managed wisely.

We are climbing mountains – a long, demanding journey of rethinking the structures underlying ownership, governance, and investment. At the summit, our perspective widens: metrics such as financial return on investment (ROI) and gross domestic product (GDP) are too narrow; we must incorporate the systemic benefits of evolution. We follow the resilient currents of rivers that link neighbourhoods, cultures, and ecosystems. Rivers remind us: if they are blocked, we should seek an alternative route. Cities can flow freely again if they are designed to incorporate nature's intelligence. With new eyes, we return to the earth, not as creators of objects but as guardians of life.

Integration is not private; it is collective. To regenerate is to shift the mainstream of the urban environment from extraction to restoration, from linearity to living systems. It means making development a practice of care, where every street, plaza, and building strengthens its ecosystem. This is the essence of what some of us are quietly working towards: a field where we and our urban environments become guardians of the Earth, also known as Earth Keepers.

Service to the Whole

The regenerative journey isn't about winners and losers; it's about reconciliation. Male and female, human and non-human, past and future: each finds a place in this new home. A building – as part of a territory – is not just concrete, steel, and glass; it also speaks to the sun and the wind, a river, a stone, a memory, and a possibility. A regenerative neighbourhood isn't just a housing stock; it encompasses community, culture, ancestral wisdom, and the collective well-being of the future. Urban futures demand this sacred unity, a harmony of polarities into living wholeness.

Finally, our dedication to service becomes our core, where inner renewal fuels outward change. Regeneration can't just be a matter of “checking the box” or keeping us comfortably in the chicken coop. It must be seen as an emerging field, an inner compass guiding leaders, investors, and citizens towards coherence and authenticity. The New Era doesn't wait. It is already here. Not fortresses or castles but living systems: mountains that inspire us to go further, rivers that connect us more deeply, and cities that pulse with life.

An Invitation to Leave the Coop

For stakeholders in the urban environment, the regenerative journey isn't just about finishing projects and tasks but about practising the art of closure – closing chapters so new ones can begin. From forts to castles, from castles to mountains, from mountains to rivers. From fear to belonging, from belonging to becoming. And now? The eagle soars above free cities, rivers flow, and mountains rise. The horizon widens. The New Era calls. Some of us are already weaving the field where this becomes real. Not a company, not a product. A living system quietly taking root. The question is: will you stay in the chicken coop, or will you soar like an eagle?

Authors:

Alejandra Torres Dromgold – Academia Musas®

Menno Lammers – Walk with Me