Richard Rees at RUDI conference: Places in Transition - Remaking Places 2010

Taking his theme as sustainability, emphasized the importance of urban design reconnecting the individual with society and nature. 'The worst cities remind us of our overcrowded population and our insulation from both nature and society.' He said that we needed to accept nature and insist that it is part of the city. Nature should also be an emphatic part of the dwelling.

Cities should be created as settings for celebration and festivals. Environments should be designed that encourage human interaction. The flexibility of the city environment needed also to be recognized and new modes of using it developed with neighbourhoods that are truly local but are connected to the global information system.