Ecological Citizen(s) Preferable Futures Deck

We are all Ecological Citizens in progress...
We are working on ways to unpack EC intentions to navigate accessible and open conversations with others. We have created the EC Preferable Futures Deck as a tool to help facilitate these kinds of conversations ans further explore diverse understandings and interpretations of Ecological Citizenship.

We have printed a limited run of these and are faciliating workshops in which to trial them - please do get in touch with the team if you would like to find out more!

A close up shot of someone holding a selection of playing-card sized cards in their hands fanned out so that they can see what each card says. The cards have been illustrated with different archetypes of the kind of qualities an Ecological Citizen might have and the illustrations have been done in a comic-book style using a colour palette of greens, oranges, black and white.
Testing the EC Preferable Futures deck at London Design Festival, September 2024. Photo by Kate Green Photography. [Low: 1.7 KB. High: 56.84 KB.]

Publications, articles & essays

  • Reimagining homes: How regenerative retrofitting can foster sustainability, ecological citizenship, and resilient communities
  • Citizen science and its potential for aiding low carbon energy transitions
  • Design Futures, Ecological Citizenship and Public Interest Technologies = HCI Regenerative Interaction Opportunities …?
    • Robert Phillips, John V. Wilshire, Elise Hodson, Sharon Baurley, Emily Boxall, Luke Gooding, Daniel Knox, Charlotte Nordmoen, Alec Shepley, Tracy Simpson & Tom Simmons
      In: Kurosu, M., Hashizume, A. (eds) Human-Computer Interaction. HCII 2024. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14687, June 2024
      Click here to view this as a PDF
  • Empowering communities to drive transition to net zero carbon
    • David Sprake, Alec Shepley, Daniel Knox, Tracy Simpson, Karen Heald, Shafiul Monir, Yuriy Vagapov & Cerys Alonso.
      Article in 'Civic Partners in Net Zero Innovative approaches to universities working with their places to achieve net zero targets', Key Cities Innovation Network, Urban Innovation Journal, April 2024
      Click here to view this as a PDF
  • Beyond co-production: Design as a means of evoking agency through ecological citizenship.
    • Dr. Robert Phillips, Jon Alexander, Sharon Baurley, Emily Boxall, Luke Gooding, Daniel Knox, Charlotte Nordmoen, Alec Shepley, Tracy Simpson, Tom Simmons & Sarah West.
      Journal Article, Cumulus Conference 2024: P/references of Design, Budapest Hungary, 15-17 May 2024
      Click here to view this as a PDF
  • Defining Ecological Citizenship; Case-studies, Projects & Perspectives; Analysed Through a Design-led Lens, Positioning ‘Preferable Future(s)’.
    • Dr. Robert Phillips, Dr. Sarah West, Prof. Alec Shepley, Prof. Sharon Baurley, Tom Simmons, Dr. Neil Pickles & Daniel Knox.
      Cumulus Conference 2022: Design for Adaptation, Detroit, USA, 2-4 Nov 2022
      Click here to view this as a PDF

Presentations, discussions & webinars

Click on the image above to watch this video via YouTube.

Webinar: Ecological Citizens in Discussion with... Dan Everett

This is a recording of an online webinar as part of the 'Ecological Citizens in Discussion with...' series hosted by Jude Pullen, our Technologist in Residence, 10.12.25.

What can we learn from the Pirahã, which might improve our sense of Ecological Citizenship?

In this talk and Q&A, we discuss 'The Pirahã Conception of the Environment' with Dan Everett, linguistic anthropologist and author of 'Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes'.
Dan has lived with the Pirahã people in the Amazon, and has a remarkable insight into their unique way of living, daring to ask radical questions about Western values and behaviours.
Have you ever questioned the habits and structures that shape our lives? As we grapple with polycrises, now is the perfect time to look to other communities for ideas about alternative ways of living.

Click on the image above to watch this video via YouTube.

Webinar: Ecological Citizens in Discussion with...Ed Conway

This is a recording of an online webinar as part of the 'Ecological Citizens in Discussion with...' series hosted by Jude Pullen, our Technologist in Residence, 30.09.25.

In this talk, we discuss 'From Mines to Microchips: What can we learn about how products are made?' with Ed Conway (author of Material World).
The importance of understanding the provenance of the materials that make our products is increasingly important - both for designers and manufacturers who make them, but also as consumers and Ecological Citizens who buy these products. Ed not only shared some remarkable facts about the hidden side of where materials come from, but also offerered advise on how to make more informed decisions about creating and consuming in a more responsible way. Essential viewing for designers, engineers, and any conscientious citizens!

Click on the image above to watch this video via YouTube.

Webinar: Ecological Citizens in Discussion with...Open Flexure

This is a recording of an online webinar as part of the 'Ecological Citizens in Discussion with...' series hosted by Jude Pullen, our Technologist in Residence, 30.07.25.

In this talk and Q&A, we talk with The OpenFlexure Project - the makers of an open source, 3D-printable microscope capable of creating lab-grade images to screen for disease, assess environmental risks, and analyse materials for a fraction of the usual cost.
OpenFlexure's Julian Stirling (also of the Humanitarian Technology Trust) discusses how this technology has been deployed across Antarctic ice sheets to pathology labs in Rwanda and discusses the challenges of making such technology widely available. Joining us from Ukraine, hardware engineer Kostyantyn Leonenko will be reporting back on how the deployment of these microscopes has been of benefit to civilians in a country at war, for both medical and environmental screening. We thank our wonderful speakers for their contributions and time.

Click on the image above to watch this video via YouTube.

Webinar: Ecological Citizens in Discussion with...Forensic Architecture

This is a recording of an online webinar as part of the 'Ecological Citizens in Discussion with...' series hosted by Jude Pullen, our Technologist in Residence, 21.05.25.

In this talk, we chat with Forensic Architecture’s advanced researchers Andra Pop-Jurj and Agata Nguyen Chuong on their groundbreaking work. Hear about how computer gaming engines can be used to piece together the reality of the scene surrounding a criminal act - whether it is using old photographs, environmental sensor data, topographical maps, or subterranean scans of graves.
As the ECN+ team explores various ways people can help with environmental issues, the work of Forensic Architecture is essential viewing for those interested in exploring multidisciplinary, innovative methodologies to better understand and be able to positively impact our changing world as informed and engaged citizens.

Click on the image above to watch this video via YouTube.

Conference presentation: Preferable, Contextual and Sustainable… Climate Futures for Ecological Citizens

This is a recording of a digital conference presentation for the DRS (Design Research Society) Conference 2024, held in Boston and online, 27.06.24.

Dr. Rob Phillips - Royal College of Art presented the paper 'Preferable, Contextual and Sustainable… Climate Futures for Ecological Citizens' in the Futuring in Transitions conference track. We thank the EC team for their contributions and Amber Anderson for her illustration work.

Click on the image above to watch this video via YouTube.

Conference presentation: Design Futures, Ecological Citizenship & Public Interest Technologies

This is a recording of a digital conference presentation for the HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) Conference 2024, held in Washington and online, 01.07.24.

Dr. Rob Phillips - Royal College of Art & John Wiltshire - Smithery presented the paper 'Design Futures, Ecological Citizenship & Public Interest Technologies = HCI Regenerative Interaction Opportunities...?' in the User Experience Design and Evaluations methods and tools - II conference track. We thank the EC team for their contributions and Amber Anderson for her illustration work.

Click on the image opposite to watch via YouTube.

Click on the image above to watch this video via YouTube.

Webinar: What Should Ecological Citizenship Look Like in Education?

We thank our wonderful speakers for their contributions and time. The webinar was hosted by Emily Boxall with Dr. Rob Phillips - Royal College of Art, Professor Sarah West - Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York, Dr. Daro Montag - Falmouth University, Dee Halligan - Forth, Laura Dempsey - Volunteers for Future, Hassina Khan - Crafts Council and Bran Howell - Eden Project.

This is a recording of an online webinar from the 17.01.23. Click on the image opposite to watch via YouTube.

Click on the image above to watch this video via YouTube.

Panel discussion: How Should We Design for Preferable Futures?

We thank our wonderful panellists for contributing to the discussion which was hosted by Dr Rob Phillips: Jon Alexander - Citizens, Kirsty Dias - Priestman Goode, Marina Konstantatou - Foster + Partners, Nikki Williams - The Wildlife Trusts, Jonathan Levine - Folia Water & Praveen Paul - Pint of Science.

This is a recording of a hybrid panel discussion held at the Royal College of Art, Battersea Campus in London on 21.09.23. Click on the image opposite to watch via YouTube.