South Cities Lab is an independent climate and sustainability advisory practice for the built environment.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Our society faces an unprecedented planetary crisis as human activity stretches beyond the boundaries within which Earth's living systems can remain intact. Our climate. Our biosphere. Our natural resources.
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We believe that the built environment sits at the centre of these planetary impacts, and also holds the opportunity for a sustainable future. We must confront these challenges head-on in urbanisation, ecology, infrastructure, community, and technology. ​
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Everything we build from this moment forward is of great importance to the future stability of our climate and the health of our living natural systems, especially so in the Global South.
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We must shape a built environment that works within the natural limits of our planet's living systems.
Our purpose is to accelerate the preservation of biological diversity, substantive climate action, and responsible resource use in the built environment, and to advance the principles of sustainability in capital programs.
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We support clients in developing high ambition pathways for buildings, infrastructure, and cities. Our practice is grounded in the Global South, with a global outlook.
We work with property and infrastructure programs to embed high ambition sustainability in strategy, investment management, planning, design, and implementation.
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We work with capital providers – lenders and investors – to develop pragmatic KPIs and oversight mechanisms for the built environment assets to which they provide capital.
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We work with government at all levels with the development of policy and planning systems aligned to high ambition sustainability.
WHO WE ARE
South Cities Lab is a leader of climate, biodiversity, and sustainability action in the built environment, with a priority for development in the Global South. Based in Cape Town South Africa, and with extensive MENA involvement and a deep history in Australia, South Cities Lab brings a truly global outlook to our projects and clients.
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Founder, Rich Palmer, is an experienced sustainability leader - a thinker on the future of cities; and the buildings, infrastructure, ecosystems and communities that comprise them. He has over 20 years’ international expertise in sustainable design, strategy and advocacy.