Charles Landry

Ask me why do you do what you do I say: I’ve always been interested in how people can fulfil their potential and ambition as in my life I’ve seen too many of us constrained by attitudes, systems or power structures.

So, why work with cities and places? when my focus could have been creative individuals or organizations or even the world, but I found the special complexities of cities compelling. This organism with so many cultures trying to co-exist seemed a challenge. How can differing perspectives, values, behaviours and interests co-exist. This sharpens the attention on organizational culture. Broadening my perspective and looking at cultural resources has allowed me to move across topics like: seeing the city as a psychological entity as if it were a human being or how urban energy is generated and how ambition is triggered or what positive roles bureaucracies can play. Of course, this does not neglect that most bigger cities spread into their more rural regions and that that connections between the urban and rural are immensely important.

How do I work? For me it is the mix that counts: Working tangibly on projects with places on intractable issues and exploring hidden opportunities lets me flow with my curiosity that at times verges on nosiness. Taking endless photos of which over 90% are rubbish gets me to explore how a story can be visually presented and finally there is writing something up.    

Even though I have written quite a few books I don’t consider myself a writer. Instead I use writing as a way of gathering thoughts and putting them down in a structured manner. That way they are absorbed. I find this liberating although the process can be difficult. This frees me and empties my mind and allows me to ask what else should I tackle and think about.

More conventionally I might say: Charles Landry is an international authority on the use of imagination and creativity in urban change. Charles helps cities identify and make the most of their possibilities by triggering their inventiveness and thinking and by opening up new conversations about their future. His aim is to help cities become more resilient, self-sustaining and to punch above their weight.