Editor’s choice
Editor’s choice
Read the paper Housing for good: catalysing ecological citizen(s) a method of designing “sustainable conditions”, which is published in the conference proceedings.
Retrofitting homes is widely recognized as a key strategy for reducing emissions in the housing sector. But how might it also foster deeper human–nature relationships, community resilience, and ecological stewardship?
Luke Gooding, a researcher at SEI York, explored this question in a paper presented at the Cumulus Nantes 2025 conference. Coauthored with Rob Phillips and Nick Gant, the paper shares insights from Wild House – a pioneering regenerative retrofit of a social home in Brighton, UK.
Funded by the Ecological Citizen(s) Network+ in 2024, the project explores how circular materials, nature-based design, and sensorial technologies can reconnect residents with the ecosystems that sustain them. It introduces the concept of an Ecology of Things – a framework for revealing the often-invisible ties between people, everyday objects, and the natural world.
These ideas were presented by Luke as part of the conference’s focus on design futures and sustainability.
Learn more about Wild House on the Ecological Citizen(s) Network+ website.
Speaker
Co-designing benefits for People and Nature – Paper presentation by Luke Gooding
Luke’s paper presentation was part of track #4 of the Cumulus conference Ethical Leadership: A New Frontier for Design.
See the full conference program.
Project / The Ecological Citizen(s) project cultivates trans-disciplinary collaboration and research to enable a digital sustainable society for positive climate action.
Project / SEI at the University of York is collaborating with the City of York to develop a retrofit one-stop shop to help the city achieve its net zero goals.
Past event / Access materials on how to embed equity, accessibility and diversity across citizen science projects and design projects to foster nature connectedness.
Journal article / This paper shares learnings from a discussion on co-creation practices across Europe, which we led at the 2024 European Citizen Science Association conference.
