Place-Based Systems Change for Regeneration and Well-Being

Place-based ways of living are needed to effectively confront our interrelated environmental and social crises and stem the decline of human well-being. This shift in how we live is entirely possible but requires systems change to reorient our lives around the places where we live.

When critical levers— shifting power, transforming land use, resetting culture, and leveraging other systems— are applied to systems, conditions arise that enable living connected to place and make the regeneration of community, nature, and local economies possible. Strategic Collaboration, systems-oriented government, place-based education, and personal change pull the levers and catalyze systems change.

Place-Based Systems emerge, collectively shape how we live, and support collective well-being (personal, community, and environmental well-being together):

  • Housing is available and affordable in mixed-income, mixed-use communities.

  • Local Business and Work: local businesses provide meaningful work and shopping for people where they live.

  • Transportation: active, community-oriented, and pollution-free modes are easily accessed and safe.

  • Community Space is safe, car-free, and vibrant.

  • Nature Space is abundant, accessible, and nearby.

  • Food: local and regional food is available and affordable.

  • Building Energy is locally and regionally harvested from renewable sources, and conservation and efficiency are default choices.

  • Consumer Goods are locally and regionally made and recirculated with minimal waste.

Guiding Principles

  • CONNECTION AND WELL-BEING: Enable everyday connections to place, community, and nature that facilitate environmental, community, and personal well-being.

  • PLACE-BASED LIVING AND ECONOMIES: Provide what people need to meet their basic and higher-level needs in the places (regions, counties, cities, communities) where they live and revitalize local economies.

  • INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES: Ensure all people feel welcome and a sense of belonging in communities that thrive with diversity.

  • RESILIENCE: Build resilience to climate and other threats through regional and local economic self-reliance, community networks, and nature-based solutions.

© Matt Biggar, Ph.D., Connected to Place (2019; revised 2020, 2021, 2023, 2025)