Quick Reflection - 2014 Geodesign Summit

The 2014 Geodesign Summit took place this week at Esri headquarters in Redlands, CA. With over 300 geospatial and design professionals in attendance, there were some amazing people and technologies on display. Several Penn State Geodesign team members were in attendance, including faculty member Dr. Lisa McElvaney. We caught up with Dr. McElvaney after the conference to ask her a few questions:

GEODZ PSU – Hi Lisa, thanks for joining us. What was your biggest take-away from the summit this year?

Dr. Lisa McElvaney - My biggest take-away from the Redlands, California 2014 Geodesign Summit was that the only hope for our species, is to get back into strong alignment with nature. We know that global warming (and radical weather) have already created very serious consequences all around our planet, and we saw many examples of that in conference presentations. Both keynote speakers Kongjian Yu and Janine Benyus gave beautiful examples of how by following nature's principles, we can use geodesign to convert our built environment into one that functions like nature. If we do that, we can come back into alignment with our planet...which we must begin to do now.

GEODZ PSU - What was the most memorable thing that you learned?

LM - The most memorable thing that I learned was that China is already doing geodesign on a national scale. The approach to flood control that Kongjian Yu demonstrated in many projects, focused on alignment with natural processes, was extremely impressive. His approach was recently adopted by the Chinese government as part of a new national strategy, and massive projects are being completed at an astonishing rate. Americans realize that the top-down leadership structure in China makes adoption of a new paradigm for the built environment easier, since they don't have the same level of political divisiveness and paralysis that we suffer from. However, since the scope of China's environmental problems is so much greater than in the U.S., if they are taking responsibility by taking real action, then we Americans have no excuse not to do so too.

GEODZ PSU - Who was the speaker that left the biggest impression on you?

LM - Janine Benyus of Biomimicry 3.8 had a huge impact on the event, because she took the discussion of the future of humanity to a whole new level. She calmly explained that species that don't successfully adapt to Earth's natural systems are eventually...and inevitably...replaced by other species. The good news is that given the 3.8 billion years of our planet's evolution, we are but tiny babies as a species, so we are very much still learning how to survive here. Clearly, the idea that we humans are somehow separate from nature...and that nature is something we have to control...was a wrong turn. We have the chance to correct that paradigm right now...before it is too late for the human race. Since Mother Earth is clearly unhappy with us, we have to act quickly!

GEODZ PSUExcellent. Thanks for sharing this with us, Lisa. Is there anything else that you’d like to add?

LM - The most memorable moment in the conference took place right after Janine Benyus' talk, when she and Jack Dangermond (President & Founder of Esri) met on stage and sat intently facing each other on the couches. It was truly magical to see, as we witnessed these two powerful thought leaders begin to bond...and acknowledge that each had what the other one needed...and that if they worked together, they could demonstrate how to design and build our world so that we can live in alignment with nature. It was clear to everyone there that this was a special moment, and I believe we may have just witnessed a critical turning point for saving the human race! Overall, it was an awesome conference with a truly special vibe of community and positivity! The geodesign community is growing in numbers, and great strides have been made in a short period of time. Everyone is already talking about next year!