Tessy is Chief Executive of Participatory City Foundation, an initiative that will start to build a large urban Demonstration Neighbourhood in a London borough (of 200,000+ residents) in early 2017. Working closely with the local authority and many other collaborators the intention is that over a 5 year period this neighbourhood will become a model of equality, wellbeing and sustainability.
For the last 6 years she have been researching and prototyping new ways to support widespread practical participation, the kind of participation that works with the fabric of daily life.
Local people have been inventing unique and innovative projects across the globe. Taken together these projects paint a picture of a different kind of neighbourhood – where positive effects are generated – by everyone, for everyone – in the course of going about their daily lives.