 Hello, I'm Kate Rayworth and I want to introduce you to the one doughnut that actually turns out to be good for us and good for cities that want to thrive in the 21st century, because this century has begun with repeated global shocks from financial meltdown and rocketing food prices in 2008, in the midst of climate breakdown and most recently the duress of COVID lockdown. These impacts are hitting people with sharp inequalities of race and gender of wealth and power, global north and global south, and what these repeated crises tell us is that we're deeply interconnected with each other and with the rest of the living world, that the crises that are emerging are actually resulting from the very systems that we've created and that these shocks are deeply disruptive to human well-being, destructive of our collective resilience, and for many are an existential risk. So we urgently need a new vision of progress that is fit for the century ahead of us. And so I offer you a doughnut. Think of it as a compass for human prosperity in the 21st century, and the goal here is to leave nobody falling short in the hole in the middle of the doughnut, falling short on the essentials of life, like food, water, healthcare, housing, political voice, social equality, so get everybody over the social foundation into the green ring of the doughnut itself, but at the same time, don't overshoot its ecological ceiling, because there we put so much pressure on the life-supporting systems of this delicately balanced planet that we push her out of balance. We cause climate breakdown. We acidify the oceans. We create a hole in the ozone layer and critical loss of biodiversity and ecosystems. And these nine planetary boundaries are what Earth system scientists believe hold this one habitable planet in the universe in such a benevolent state for humanity. So the aim is to meet the needs of all people within the means of the living planet. But if that's the goal, living in dynamic balance in the doughnut, we are far out of balance today. Billions of people worldwide still cannot meet their most basic needs. And yet we've already overshot multiple planetary boundaries on climate change, on excessive fertiliser use, land conversion, and critical levels of biodiversity loss. So this challenge of meeting the needs of all within the means of the planet, we have to take it on for the first time, because last century's economic theorists and government policymakers, business leaders, and community activists, they never saw this challenge. This is a challenge of our times, and we need to come up with solutions, policies, theories, and practices and business models of our own. I believe this is the challenge that our children's children will remember us for, and will ask, what did we do once that we knew? So what if we could take this global concept of the doughnut and bring it down to the scale that policymaking actually happens at the national level or the city level? And that's exactly what we've been doing at Donut Economics Action Lab, together with Biomimicry 3.8, C40 Cities, and Circle Economy. We've downscaled the doughnut to the scale of the city, and we invite every visionary 21st century city to ask itself this question. How can your city become a home to thriving people in a thriving place while respecting the well-being of all people and the health of the whole planet? And we can take that question and dive into its full lenses that make up the city portrait. So first, what would it mean for the people of your city to thrive based on their own values and vision? What does a good life look like in terms of community, housing, healthcare, education, transport, political voice, and social equality? And how far is your city today from meeting its own people's vision of thriving? Then ask, what would it mean for your city to truly belong within its natural habitat? What if your city were as generous and resilient as the wildland next door, be it a forest, a savannah, or a wetland? How could your city's landscapes and greenscapes, pavements, and rooftops be designed to sequester as much carbon dioxide as the forest next door, to store as much groundwater after a storm, to house as much biodiversity, or to cool as much air as the forest does from the treetops to the forest floor? Because the more that your city can match the generosity of the living world in which it's embedded, the more it can become resilient and thriving as a place to live. So these two lenses, the local aspiration of thriving people in a thriving natural habitat, they set out the local aspirations of a city and that's a powerful starting point. But as we all know, every city is deeply connected to people and places nearby and worldwide and so that local aspiration has to be set in the context of global responsibility. And so now we need to ask, how could your city start to respect the health of the whole planet? Think of all the food, clothing, electronics, consumer goods, construction materials that are imported into your city every year and the stream of waste that then flows out. And think of all of Earth's resources embedded in those imports, the carbon emissions, water use, fertilizer, the land converted timber, minerals and metals extracted. And then ask, what would it take for your city to respect the well-being of people worldwide? Think again of the food, the clothing, electronics and consumer goods that are brought into your city every year. Whose labor went into growing and picking, cutting and stitching, digging and carrying, assembling and packing and transporting all of those products to your city and then disposing of the waste that they ultimately produce. What can be done by city actors from the municipality and businesses to residents and civic groups alike to ensure that the way the city is procuring and purchasing respects workers and communities nearby and worldwide throughout those supply chains. Together these four lenses of the city portrait, the social and ecological, the local and the global, they bring a new perspective to what it means to be a thriving city. They show a holistic view of the challenges and opportunities that face a 21st century city. We've downscaled the doughnut for three cities, Portland, Philadelphia and Amsterdam and run workshops with city staff and change makers looking at their city for the first time through the perspective of these four lenses of the portrait. And what's come clear in those workshops is that the city portrait helps to widen the possibilities of the city's future. Take Amsterdam for example, affordable housing is a challenge in the city, but policymakers know that if they simply allow more housing to be built the way it's always been done, it will result in more carbon emissions deepening the city's contribution to the climate crisis. So Amsterdam has committed to become a 100% circular city by 2050 and that includes the housing sector. So how could housing, circular design be built in the city not only to sequester carbon emissions but to reduce air pollution, reduce the generation of waste and excessive land use? And how can circular housing be built so that it enhances the local ecological conditions of the city? How can houses be constructed so that they sequester carbon in their very timbers, so that they support biodiversity by building niches for wildlife in the walls, so that they harvest solar energy through rooftop horticulture or solar panels? In the local social lens, how can circular housing deepen community, expand affordability to a wider diversity of people, ensure they deliver health and good jobs and income in the process of building those houses? And then how can the construction materials be procured in a way that respects the health and the jobs and the security of people working in construction supply chains worldwide? So these holistic lenses give us a chance to deepen Amsterdam's vision of becoming a circular city. But where we think that the city portrait really comes to life is turning it into a city selfie because we've taken publicly available targets and statistics but what if the people of the city themselves decided to make it a portrait of who they are today? Through the lens perhaps of food or of energy or of housing, starting by plotting onto the portrait all the initiatives and policies and strategies that are underway to bring that transformation about. Looking for the deep interconnections between the social and ecological, the local and global lenses that create the synergies that are needed. Bringing to bear the visions and the values that people in the city hold dear for what they think will be a thriving future for themselves. Bringing in voices, lived experience of city histories and stories from different communities showing the diversity of experience and life in the city. And then highlighting initiatives that could be taken now that would bring new synergies and take the city from where it is to where it wants to get to. So that's an overview of the city portrait and its idea as a city selfie. We believe there are at least nine ways of turning it into transformative actions. Let's call them the nine M's. Start by using the portrait as a mirror reflecting the current status of your city and its impacts worldwide. Turn it into a mission, create a compelling vision of what thriving means to your city and what it can become. Use the portrait to mobilize city change makers and stakeholders who are ready to drive that transformation. Onto the portrait map the existing policies and initiatives that are already taking your city in the direction it wants to go. Let it inspire a holistic mindset backed up by the values and ways of working that are needed to turn this into reality. Connect it with other methods that you're already using to bring about change. Use it to build momentum through an iterative process of action and reflection. Monitor how and where the city is making progress or not into getting into the donut and lastly make it irresistible, be creative, have fun, share learning and share success. So this is an overview of how we've downscaled the donut and turned it into a city portrait. We hope that it inspires your city on its own journey to becoming a 21st century thriving city.