

How we work
The most globally important sustainability projects undertaken in the world today are conceived and executed by local actors at the local level. The reason is simple: a single, particular place is the only scale at which the interface between people and natural systems is immediate and accessible.
Today, a new generation of place-based leaders is emerging to spearhead regenerative development and planning efforts all around the world. But as anyone who has undertaken such a process has learned, making progress at the local level can be a surprisingly complex challenge. Each and every place on earth is characterized by a unique set of cultural, social, and political dynamics that can hinder or even prevent local projects from making a global difference.
The Regenesis approach is based on the premise that deep and practical understanding of the unique dynamics of a place is critical to regenerative planning and development. It is an approach that we have developed over two decades, working with more than 300 projects in places spread across six continents.
Story of Place
In all of our projects, we begin by developing a Story of Place: a research-based understanding of how a place works and what it strives to contribute to the world.
The process that we bring to this work derives its power from our ability to discern the ecological patterns–the stories of geology and hydrology, flora and fauna–that gave rise to the cultural patterns that those that live in the place know deeply, live with daily, and joke about with each other. In scientific data, historical records, ancient legends, regional arts, and kitchen-table conversations, Regenesis finds those patterns that reveal the timeless essence of a place and its whole living community.
When a place’s essence is articulated clearly and concretely, it becomes possible to design, develop, and plan for the future at an entirely new level.
Integrative Design Process
Regenerative project leaders seeking to deliver a transformational result must employ a transformational process in order to get there. Over the past 20 years, we have been pioneers in developing the Integrative Design Process as a critical interface that moves regenerative development and design from an exciting concept to an actual working process that delivers tangible results. Through the Integrative Design Process, we help you integrate the many complex streams of work that must be engaged in simultaneously and synergistically to create a truly regenerative impact.


Arenas of Work
The Regenesis approach has been used to inform the development of schools, farms, resorts, and parks; housing, commercial, and mixed-use projects; cities, neighborhoods and planned communities; and community and regional economic development and sustainability plans. Most of these projects fall into one of two arenas:

