- A 4-day residential course for “meshworkers” to reframe simplicity on the other side of complexity in the Integral City – or Human Hive.
- Collaborate with graduates of prior training (or equivalent experience) to build on the Integral City Beyond Smart practitioners and Beyond Resilient catalyst, competencies to apply new skills to a live case study.
- Look at the city through the lenses of Care, Contexting and Capacity Building to view the city as a complex, adaptive living innovation eco-system, where the internal and external connections amongst the 4+1 voices of the city (Citizens, Civil Society, City/Institutional Managers, Business/Innovators (and other cities) enable conditions for thriving today.
- Learn how to align intra-city and inter-regional collaborations through caring for people, contexting for place and capacity building for purpose.
This course introduces the practices of “meshworking”, so that practitioners who work with individual organizations and catalysts who build bridges between organizations can engage with the city as a whole.
We will select a city as a case study, from participant proposals. Mapping connections, aligning people, place, and purpose, we will enable this city to learn from other cities. We will co-create implementation plans for one or more of the global/local-scale challenges such as climate adaptation, energy shifts, water management, food security, and cultural evolution.
You will apply frameworks, tools and processes that release energy, catalyze new conversations and build on underlying values. As a multi-disciplinary team, you will design the relevant prototypes that align community engagement, city development, business strategies and communication technologies to evolve the intelligences of a thriving human hive.
This course (like earlier courses Beyond Smart: Integral City Practices, Tools & Maps and Beyond Resilient: IntegralCity Inquiry, Action & Impact) targets the 4+1 Voices of the city so they can practice working together as an integrated team. The course welcomes:
- Business leaders seeking opportunities for their businesses that serve a higher purpose.
- Civil Society (Third Sector) leaders seeking more inspiring ways to communicate the voices of the marginalized and the spirit of the community.
- Local Government leaders with responsibilities across a range of services, who want to align and collaborate for effective outcomes.
- Engaged Citizens, who are ready and willing to contribute to the wellbeing of their city.
Our time together will draw upon the research of the co-focalisers and the Integral City Communities of Practise (in Canada, USA, Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Mexico, South Africa, Germany) while integrating the experiences of your fellow participants.
Beth changes the “energetics” of a room and she does so by creating catalytic conversations that count. She’s always got a creative alternative ready and savvy solution handy. Beth has a unique talent for synthesizing information in a way that is meaningful to the hearts and minds of everyone in the room, be that one person or a group. I highly recommend Beth as a “meshworker” of organizations and communities and as a compassionate and caring collaborator.
Dr. Dan MacKinnon, Organizational Psychologist , Beyond Complexity co-lab
Marilyn opened my eyes to the increasing complexity of cities worldwide as they become the big attractor, as dynamic environments, leading to work, cross-pollination, societal innovation and more. Marilyn is the absolute expert in the field of the “evolution of cities” and “how to be guardians of our humanity and a healthy future”. Her metaphor of the “BEEHIVE” is very powerful. My wish is that mayors, city managers, businesses and citizens find their way to this wisdom, which will serve them unconditionally.
Marianne De Jager, Founder Innervention, Beyond Complexity
Trainers
Beth Sanders MCP, RPP, MCIP

Beth is a Civic Meshworker and City Planner. President of POPULUS Community Planning Inc., she works as a registered professional planner across Canada with citizens, civic governments, business and community organizations striving to create the conditions for cities to serve citizens well – and citizens to serve cities well. Beth works for cities at every scale: she serves on the boards of her neighborhood community league (as past president), the Alberta Professional Planners Institute (as past president), and the Canadian Institute of Planners. Beth’s book, Nest City: The Human Drive to Thrive in Cities, is in publication. Beth lives in Edmonton, AB, Canada. http://populus.ca
Marilyn Hamilton PhD, CPA/CGA (ret)

Marilyn Hamilton is the author/innovator of the paradigm-shifting frameworks, research and impact designs of Integral City website, blogs, courses and books (Integral City: Evolutionary Intelligences for the Human Hive; Integral City Inquiry & Action: Designing Impact for the Human Hive; and Integral City 3.7: Reframing Complex Challenges for Gaia’s Human Hives). Marilyn Hamilton, Founder of Integral City Meshworks, lives in Findhorn The Park, Scotland. www.integralcity.com
Course Requirements
This course welcomes participants who have completed the previous courses Beyond Smart: Integral City Practices, Tools & Maps and Beyond Resilient: IntegralCity Inquiry, Action & Impact.
Applicants with equivalent experience are encouraged to apply.
Course Fees
- £750
- £650
- £525
The higher fee helps support others to attend, the middle fee covers costs and enables course development, the low fee is the minimum cost of the course.
Application Information
All prices include four nights’ accommodation (Tuesday – Friday, depart Saturday 9 am), all meals (vegetarian, local, organic where possible) course content and facilitation.