What if we've been designing cities all wrong? 

In Episode 37 of Talking Place, host Tanisha Raffiuddin sits down with Rasmus Astrup, Design Principal and Senior Partner at SLA, one of the world's leading nature-based design practices, to explore how nature-based design can reshape the way we think about cities. 

Rasmus argues that nature isn't a decorative layer we add at the end of a project. It's infrastructure that’s just as important as roads, utilities and transport networks. From biodiversity corridors and climate resilience to Indigenous wisdom and seven-generation thinking, they discuss how development can create value not only for people, but for all life. 

The conversation also explores the business case for nature-based design, why joy isn't a line item, and the challenge of measuring things that don't easily fit into a spreadsheet. They look at projects including Al Fay Park in Abu Dhabi, and what it reveals about designing with local ecosystems. Rasmus shares what developers and designers need to do differently to turn ambitious ideas into places that actually get built. 

At its heart is a bigger question: what could our cities look like if we designed with nature, rather than around it? 

Topics Covered 

• Nature-based design and the relationship between cities and natural systems 
• Designing for biodiversity, climate resilience and all life 
• Indigenous approaches to nature and seven-generation thinking 
• The business case for landscape and nature-based infrastructure 
• Measuring value beyond land value, including biodiversity, rainwater and joy 
• Al Fay Park and the role of local ecosystems in urban design 
• The gap between ambitious masterplans and what ultimately gets built 
• Designing beyond the site boundary through connected, shared solutions 

About Our Guest 

Rasmus Astrup is Design Principal and Senior Partner at SLA, a renowned Danish nature-based design studio. He has worked at SLA for more than 17 years and leads some of the studio’s largest and most complex international projects. His work spans landscape architecture, urban design, climate adaptation and the application of nature-based design to urban challenges, with projects across Canada, the UAE, France and the UK. 

Join the Conversation 

Who is your city built for? What would it take to make it work for everyone? 
Share your thoughts with us on Instagram or LinkedIn @TalkingPlacePodcast using #TalkingPlacePodcast 

Links and Mentions 

• SLA: http://sla.dk/  
• Rasmus Astrup: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rasmus-astrup-7674972/  
• Al Fay Park, Abu Dhabi: https://www.sla.dk/cases/al-fay-park/  
• Earls Court masterplan, London: https://www.sla.dk/cases/earls-court/  
• Downsview Masterplan, Toronto: https://www.sla.dk/cases/downsview/  
• Hands on Flora, the book on local flora in the Abu Dhabi project: https://www.sla.dk/cases/hands-on-flora/  

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