Regenerative Urban Insights from Colombia – A 150+ Day Journey into Living Systems
- Menno
- 1 hour ago
- 9 min read
What living in Colombia taught me about love, life, and regeneration
Over six months ago, I made a decision that changed both my personal life and my professional career. I decided to travel to Bogotá to be with my beloved, Alejandra. What started as a get-together soon grew into something much deeper: an immersion in the place, the culture, and how regeneration actually takes shape in cities through relationships, behaviour, and the evolution of systems over time. My connection with Colombia began in June 2024, when I was invited to Bogotá to deliver the closing keynote "Catalysing Life in Concrete Jungles: Why Regeneration Beats Sustainability" at Construverde, the flagship event of the Colombian Green Building Council. That moment marked a turning point. It was not only the beginning of a new professional chapter, but I also met Alejandra there for the first time and finalised the financial deal for the sale of my home.
For more than two decades, I have been walking the built environment, helping the industry transform and evolve. What I had not expected was that Colombia would not only deepen my understanding but also fundamentally change how I can support others through that transition. Since then, Colombia has gradually emerged as a place of extraordinary richness: landscapes full of vitality, cultures rooted in tradition, and a society shaped by both resilience and contrast. Living in Bogotá, a city of over eight million inhabitants, high in the Andes (2,600 meters), has completely changed my perspective on the relationship among humans, the urban environment, and nature. Over time, I realised that this was not just a life experience but part of my regenerative journey. This journey did not start here. Earlier reflections, such as my time in Japan, had already shown how regeneration resides in craft, culture, and daily practice, providing a foundation that Colombia now expands on in a very different context. This blog shares insights from Colombia on regenerative urbanism, with lessons for cities, leaders, and developers worldwide.
My Western Urban Worldview
Before I arrived, I carried with me many assumptions shaped by a Western worldview. In Europe, progress is often linked to optimisation, control, and efficiency. Cities are designed as systems that must be engineered and perfected, with predictability viewed as a sign of success. Bogotá challenges this immediately. The city buzzes with an energy that initially feels chaotic (I didn’t want to drive a car for two months) – motorcycles weaving through traffic, numerous SUVs navigating steep streets, and a constant sense of movement. But beneath this apparent disorder, something else becomes visible: a living system that adapts, organises itself, and continues to function. This experience revealed an important truth for regenerative urban development. Living systems do not flourish because they are controlled. They flourish because they can evolve. What initially appears to be unpredictability turns out to be a different form of order, one rooted in adaptability and diversity.
Partnering with Place
The presence of nature in Bogotá quickly changes your perception. Mountains are not far away; they surround the city. Clouds drift through the urban space as if there were no boundary between the built and natural environments. Hummingbirds appear in gardens and parks, reminding you that biodiversity is not limited to remote areas (Colombia is number 1 in the world for biodiversity). And towering above it all is Monserrate, a mountain that serves as both a physical and symbolic anchor point. Living in Bogotá makes it clear that cities are not separate from nature. They are an expression of it. In my work, I call this the shift from projects to living systems. It is the foundation of Regenerative Wayfinding Architecture™: learning to read a place (within yourself, the organisation, and beyond) before attempting to redesign it. Regeneration does not begin with new technologies or master plans. It begins with understanding and collaborating by being part of the place.
A New Lens on Development
At the same time, many of the stories I had heard about Colombia began to fade. From a distance, the country is often portrayed as a land of instability and risk. But living in Bogotá reveals a very different story as well. What I experienced was warmth, spontaneity, and a strong sense of community. People share their time and support each other in ways that feel both natural and essential. This brought something profound to light about regenerative leadership. What is often seen as a 'lack of development' can obscure the formation of social and cultural intelligence that highly industrialised societies have gradually lost. When we focus solely on problems, we overlook the potential that is already there. I feel that cities like Bogotá and Medellín are asking a different question: not what needs to be solved, but what is already alive and can be strengthened. This shift is not merely philosophical; it has direct implications for the way urban stakeholders design, develop, invest in, and govern cities – something I explore further in my work on why regeneration is becoming essential for the future of the urban environment. Why does this matter for leaders in the built environment? Most leaders are still optimising projects, while the real leverage lies in redesigning the decisions that shape entire systems.
The Human System Layer
The most transformative part of this journey has been deeply personal. I chose to go live with Alejandra, and I can already say much has changed. Because of her, I experienced the country not as a visitor, but as someone who became part of its rhythms. Regeneration is often discussed in terms of systems and frameworks, but at its core, it begins with relationships – with people, with culture, and especially with the place. It is through these relationships that a sense of connection emerges. And it is through connection that we begin to see things differently. This is where many transition attempts fail. We focus on structures, KPIs, strategies, and frameworks, whereas regeneration begins with relationships. As a guide for regeneration, I see it as my role to help leaders reconnect with this layer, because without that layer, no systemic change will endure.
Nodal Interventions in Bogotá and Medellín
Daily life in Colombia became a continuous process of learning and adapting. Language became part of that journey, with Spanish evolving from an unknown language into one I hear daily but have not yet mastered, as I mainly speak English. The pace of life demanded patience, and time itself seemed to follow a different rhythm. At the same time, Bogotá offers compelling examples of how urban systems can transform through simple interventions. Every Sunday, the city comes alive during Ciclovía (thanks to former Mayor Penalosa), when major roads are closed to cars and opened to cyclists, runners, and families. For a moment, the city reorganises itself around people rather than vehicles. These moments may seem insignificant, but they reveal something fundamental to regenerative urban design. Cities can evolve, not through large-scale control, but through carefully placed shifts that ripple through the entire system (urban acupuncture). These small interventions show how targeted adjustments can enable transformation within complete urban systems.
A similar dynamic becomes evident in Medellín, a city that has redefined its global identity through a series of precise, place-based interventions. Beyond well-known projects such as the Metrocable and the public escalators in Comuna 13, the Corredores Verdes (Green Corridors) demonstrate how urban transformation can develop through ecological intelligence. By transforming traffic-heavy corridors into green, shaded, and biodiverse spaces, the city has lowered urban heat, enhanced air quality, and restored ecological connectivity. Simultaneously, these corridors have improved the everyday experience of the city – making it more walkable, liveable, and human-centric – while strengthening social cohesion and local economic activity.
What stands out is not the size of these interventions but their precision. They were positioned exactly where the system needed them most, unlocking environmental, social, and economic benefits simultaneously. For me, Medellín is not merely a success story. It is a living example of how targeted, place-specific interventions can alter the course of an entire urban system – something that increasingly influences how I help urban leaders on their own regenerative transformation journeys.
This sensitivity to place isn't limited to cities alone. In towns like Villa de Leyva and Ráquira, it becomes evident how culture, craft, and landscape are interconnected over time. For me, these places confirm that regeneration isn't something we create; it's something we recognise, protect, and help develop.
Colombia’s Global Role
Beyond the city, Colombia's ecological richness becomes even more evident. Colombia is the most biodiverse country in the world, with ecosystems ranging from the Amazon rainforest to the Andean mountains and the Caribbean coast. Places like the Sierra Nevada hold not only ecological importance but also deep spiritual significance. Indigenous communities there refer to it as the “Heart of the World,” seeing themselves as guardians responsible for maintaining planetary balance. Colombia is not just a country in transition; it plays a vital role in sustaining planetary health. This perspective offers a fundamentally different understanding of sustainability and renewal. Instead of placing humans above nature, it positions them within a living web of relationships. It reminds us that regenerative practices are not new; they are ancient, rooted in cultures that recognise their role within larger systems.
Regeneration in Daily Life
Regeneration in Colombia is evident not only in the landscape and culture but also in daily life. The food is simple, nutritious, and deeply connected to the land, such as arepas, ajiaco, tropical fruit, and coffee grown in ecosystems where agriculture and biodiversity coexist. Healthcare interactions often feel more personal, focusing on the individual rather than just symptoms, with Western medicine existing alongside natural remedies. Waste management varies by community, with organic material being reused and repurposed, and recyclers collecting specific waste left on the street for pickup. These patterns reveal a deeper truth: in living systems, nothing is lost. Everything becomes a raw material for something else. Colombia is a living example of how the principles of the circular economy are embedded in the culture rather than being imposed as policy. I hope that Bogotá (and beyond) organises a monthly Circuvía (= Circular + Vía) to keep the city clean. I experienced the positive effects of clean places, such as the metro stations in Japan.
From “Black Sheep” to “Green Sheep”
Over time, my perception of Colombia has changed profoundly. What I initially viewed through Western expectations has now become something entirely different. Colombia is not the 'black sheep' often portrayed in international narratives. In many respects, one could rather call it a 'green sheep'—a country rich in biodiversity, cultural resilience, and livelihood-sustaining systems. Of course, challenges remain. But alongside those challenges, there is also a deep vitality. It is a vitality that arises when people, place, and purpose remain connected. It reminds us that the health of any system depends on the unique role it plays within a larger whole.
A Personal Transformation
My life in Colombia has influenced my perspective on my role as a leader and professional. Instead of presenting myself as an expert with all the answers, I have become a listener, participant, learner, and resource. My role is shifting from expert to guide for regenerative transition, helping to translate lived experiences to leaders, organisations, and urban systems around the world. My work is not about imposing solutions for past problems, but about guiding leaders, organisations, and cities in finding their own path to regeneration, rooted in the place, the potential, and the purpose. This change is not only personal; it also reflects my repositioning within the market – from traditional advisory and innovative roles to guiding systemic, regenerative transition. Every system possesses its own intelligence. The task is not to control it, but to activate and nurture the capacity for evolution.
What Comes Next?
As my next chapter progresses, the journey endures. In April 2026, we will travel to Panama to continue discussions on regenerative urban futures. In May, we will go to the Netherlands to reconnect with the context in which much of my earlier work began. Each location offers new perspectives, but the fundamental question remains: how can we design and develop regenerative urban futures that enable life – both human and non-human – to evolve and prosper? This is also the focus we are now integrating into a new leadership programme called REGEN101. We help urban leaders shift from control to coherence, from optimisation to evolution, and from projects to living systems.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, we are working in a more focused and deliberate way on what comes next – something bold and ambitious, as an impact investor told us. We are developing an evolving architecture aimed at reshaping how decisions are made, how capital is allocated, how leadership teams operate, and how developments generate long-term systemic value. For now, this work remains in progress and in stealth mode. However, its direction is clear: to go beyond just participating in the transition from the sidelines and to actively create what comes next.
The Regnerative Urban Future Is Growing
Colombia has shown me that regeneration does not start with grand strategies or technological breakthroughs. It begins with a shift in perspective. It starts with recognising the potential that already exists, reconnecting to place, strengthening relationships, and understanding our role within larger systems. The future is not something we design from a distance. It is something we grow together with life itself. Regeneration is not a concept I teach. It is a journey I help others navigate. The implication is clear: the future of cities will not be decided by better projects, but by better ways of making decisions. This journey – from Japan to Colombia, and into my work with urban leaders – continues to show that regeneration is not a theory, but a practice that takes shape differently in every place.
Author:
Menno Lammers
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