What is Global Urban Village?

“The most courageous act is to think for yourself. Aloud.” Coco Chanel

Thinking for yourself doesn’t have to mean by yourself. To take Coco’s quote to the next level, add another brave soul and you have a conversation. My husband and I have had a long conversation going in an effort to better understand ourselves and each other. In it we’ve tried to be both honest and courageous in imagining our future, and in what we may be able to contribute to the world. Along the way we have added many inputs to the conversation, researching and exploring some of the major influences effecting our times and the future ahead, and following our intuition and professional experiences to shape our questions about how we can drive positive social and environmental impact. As we follow this path of inquiry, we also continue to refine the ways we hope to contribute our skills, our voices, and our effort to lead toward a better future. We share a passion and belief in community, connection, diversity and collaboration. We see these themes at the heart of the most powerful solutions we encounter. We’ve decided to take our conversation to the next level of aloud by sharing it and opening up to more ideas and inputs. Here’s our thinking on how the words Global Urban Village bring together some of the ideas that embody our vision.

Global:

The world is connected and diverse ideas and cultures play a key role in shaping the future.

The world continues to get smaller as mobility and technology reduce the effort and time required to move through the world, and to share ideas and cultures. Globalization is a complex force associated with many negative effects, but also giving rise to the increased sharing of ideas, innovation and important movements for change. Increased interaction and exchange of ideas is a reality in our world, hand in hand with the technology that enables it. Many leaders and thinkers have put forward ideas on  how to ensure this reality is a source for solutions. Global economist, Zia Qureshi, highlights broadening access to opportunity, enhancing capability to respond to the new challenges we face, access to education, new models of public and private partnership, and technology enabled solutions as methods to bring about a better future for all.

Within this complex topic, we see an opportunity to accept the reality of a connected future and to try to make that connection meaningful. Seeking ways to learn respectfully across cultures and identify platforms that contribute to change. In the breadth of the unique knowledge of the people and cultures of the world are the combinations and connections that can shape the innovations and solutions we need. This is the aspect of global that resonates for us. Globalization generates widely varied outcomes, but sharing, connecting, and collaborating are strong contributors to innovation and to a brighter future. We are compelled to explore a global view by the variety of ideas and approaches around the world both new and ancient, in cultures and the natural environment.

Urban 

The majority of people in the world live in cities and cities need to lead on solutions to improve quality of life and harmony with the environment.

According to several recent measures, we have crossed the threshold of the majority of the worlds’ people living in urban environments. A proportion that is expected to continue to increase to two-thirds and beyond in the coming decades (World Urbanization Report). Just a few decades ago, cities were seen as dirty, dangerous places, not desirable to live in and especially not to raise a family in. The American Dream was of a suburban lifestyle in a cul de sac. Today, the rush to cities is driven by economic and cultural motives. Cities are seen as the most desirable locations to live and are priced accordingly, which creates a new set of problems. The simple fact of the urban trend is that if humanity is to progress and to thrive with dense urban centers as our primary habitat, solutions and innovations for a better future must come from the urban environments where more and more of the world’s people are congregating and collaborating.

Cities are hubs for culture and idea exchange. Higher density of people sharing the same space increases knowledge transfer and the intersection of more varied ideas and approaches, which promotes creativity and innovation. In Happy City, Charles Montgomery explores the intersections of this knowledge fluidity, urban design and the emerging science of happiness. His book and many others put forward that through cities we can tackle the challenges of our age, promote happiness, and protect the environment. An exciting position that reflects the important role of urban centers and dense, diverse, and collaborative environments in generating solutions. He quotes Enrique Peñalosa, renowned urbanist and transformative mayor of Bogota, Columbia saying of cities, “Great public space is a kind of magical good. It never ceases to yield happiness. It’s almost happiness itself.”

Our passion for cities is informed by the cities we have deeper relationships with: Seattle, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, and the cities we have explored in our travels so far. Leaning toward Montgomery’s thinking, we believe that community, connection, diversity and collaboration are natural by-products of urban life that can be focused and enhanced by the right spaces, design, and access to opportunity. As one of our great heroes puts it, “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

As urbanization is on the rise, the time is right to turn to cities to lead on the innovations that drive positive social and environmental impact.

Village

Interdependence, community and connectivity are at the heart of human life and the natural world.

The village was the original construct of collaborative human life and was defined as a group of families that lived in proximity for sociability, defense and to farm or fish the surrounding area together. Interdependence on one another, as well as the natural environment, was a fundamental truth. In the modern world, even as we become theoretically more connected than ever, there is a diminishing sense of interdependence and of community. The idea of a conceptual village that is interdependent, collaborative, and inclusive in creating a sense of belonging, embodies many of the values we see as key drivers for better cities and improved quality of life.

Marshall McLuhan put forward the concept of the Global Village originally in the 60s, and his argument was that the electronic age increased the speed of communication and variety of available media, which made the world smaller and people more aware of global responsibility. In other words, an increase of connectivity. His theory still applies, but in the digital age the depth of interconnectivity is far beyond what McLuhan could have imagined. The web of connectivity in the digital world imitates the web of interconnectivity of all life. And while the systemic aspects of nature have always existed, our experience of interconnectivity through digital life highlights the existence of this wisdom. Creating an enhanced sense of community that reflects the connectivity of the digital world and the connected systems of nature, is at the heart of our mission and our view.

These ideas come together to shape our vision for global urban village, an initiative focused on contributing to positive social and environmental impact through building community, connection, and supporting innovation. We plan to begin through asking questions, researching, exploring, sharing our thoughts, contributing to entrepreneurial efforts and interacting with others who share our goal of a better future for all.

Hope you will join us, please share your thoughts and ideas, or suggest an influencer, organization or book we should explore.