Grant McCargo, a longtime friend of Serenbe, is an environmentalist and the founder of Urban Villages, a real estate development company creating walkable, culturally rich, nature-connected places designed to stand the test of time.

One of the most striking examples of this work is Populus, a hotel in the heart of downtown Denver inspired by the aspen tree and rooted in biophilic design. It is also the first carbon-positive hotel in the United States, designed to capture more carbon than it emits. But Grant’s approach isn’t always about building something new. In Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square, Urban Villages is breathing new life into existing buildings through adaptive reuse, an approach Grant believes can be one of the most powerful things we can do for the environment.

In this conversation, Steve Nygren and Grant explore what happens when environmentalism becomes part of good business practice, why quality and thoughtful design can create greater value over time, and what we might build differently if we took a long term view instead of focusing on the next quarter or the next sale.

They also talk about why, ultimately, protecting the natural world should be at the heart of how we think about the places we build.

Show Notes

• Urban Villages
• Bio-Logical Capital
• Remembering Stephen Kellert
• Serenbe
• Start In Your Own Backyard

Keywords: Grant McCargo, Urban Villages, Populus Hotel, biophilic design, biophilic cities, sustainable development, sustainable architecture, environmentalism, green building, adaptive reuse, historic preservation, urban revitalization, walkable cities, walkability, nature and cities, nature connected design, long-term thinking, resilient cities, placemaking, mixed-use development, urban planning, Steve Nygren, Serenbe, Start In Your Own Backyard

Are You Ready For Radical Common Sense? Visionary placemaker Steve Nygren chronicles the rise of Serenbe, a pioneering model of biophilic living outside Atlanta, and charts a path for others wishing to challenge the status quo, embrace optimism, and reinvent their communities…and themselves.

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