We have come a long way in urban design for environmentally sustainable living – energy efficient housing, green spaces, smart transport infrastructure, zero waste resource management – but no matter how resource efficient our new eco-cities are, if they don’t work for people they simply won’t work.  We need to build on the amazing knowledge, and experience we have from the eco-engineers, architects, and technologists and utilise the insight, knowledge, and expertise of those that understand how to make communities thrive.