Patrick Geddes

Patrick Geddes was one of the greatest thinkers and same-time activists of our times. Early Environmentalist, Botanist, Architect, Gardener and Community Planner are just some of his combined polymathic trades.

His achievements bridged science, sociology, and urban planning. As an internationalist, he traveled widely—bringing his ideas on education, culture, and civic improvement to India, Palestine, France and beyond—always stressing the interconnectedness of people and places. He is often regarded as one of the first environmentalists, advocating for “thinking globally, acting locally” long before the phrase was coined, emphasizing harmony between human settlements and their natural surroundings. Above all, Geddes was a deep community planner: he believed places should grow organically from the needs, traditions, and landscapes of their inhabitants, designing plans that empowered communities to flourish rather than imposing rigid, top-down schemes. His holistic vision continues to inspire sustainable and human-centered design today.

Geddes and his family have been a guiding force in my thinking, doing and making for many years. Both in community as well as in academic terms. His Place/Work/Folk thinking machine has underpinned the work at Deveron Projects and other places i worked with through the ‘town is the venue’ philosophy. His thinking provided next to Joseph Beuys’ ‘everyone is an artist’ concepts the theoretical framework to my PhD thesis.

I give talks, workshops and other events on all kind of aspects relating to Patrick Geddes’ many interests. This includes nature events, talks on his Thinking Machines and other concepts, Valle Section Walks, both at popular and academic events.

I also conduct walks around the Old Town of Edinburgh showing folks the Geddes family achievements round what Patrick called the conservative surgery of the Auld Reekie. The walks take between one and two hours. Contact me if you are interested.