Urbanistas: “It’s a playground to explore authentic leadership as a woman”

Ten years since the founding, Fisher is now Deputy Director for Land Use Policy at DEFRA and Liane Hartley runs her own sustainability and infrastructure consultancy called Mend. As for Urbanistas, what started in London has grown to several chapters in the UK, and around the world, from Manchester to New York, Sydney and Rotterdam.

The founders say the simplicity of the Urbanistas model is key to its replicability. At its heart lies the Urbanista “expo”, which is like a utopian remix of Dragons’ Den. Three women pitch their start-up ideas for cities and women pledge their support – not with money, but in enabling connections and time.   

At the “expo”, the twenty or so women in the audience are asked to help take the idea forward, and a number of them will commit. “There has to be follow-up,” says Hartley. There are other genres of meet-ups too – film nights or drink receptions – but the expo is the main event.

It’s not just about networking, it’s about supporting women’s ideas too – and actioning them

The expo has led to real outcomes, such as Homebaked, a Community Land Trust in Enfield, and the Office of Displaced Designers, a charity that supports and collaborates with marginalised and displaced designers around the world. “Some ideas go somewhere really big,” Fisher adds.

The founders also say participation in Urbanistas increases confidence in multiple ways. Fisher and Hartley see it as a “playground to explore authentic leadership as a woman”.

It’s about showing up, “not just as a professional, but as a person. To bring your whole self,” adds Fisher. To this end, all attendees are expected to introduce themselves at the start of every meet. “The reason we do these introductions is by design, because when you open your mouth early on in a meeting, you are more likely to open your mouth later on in a meeting as well,” says Fisher. “It’s something I’ve started doing in my team meetings. How do I make sure that everybody is at the table, and properly at the table, and talking?”

It’s about showing up, “not just as a professional, but as a person. To bring your whole self”

Making a pitch and asking for help are also seen as professional growth opportunities – articulating a pitch, seeking support and identifying what you need to take that idea forward. And finally, running a chapter of Urbanistas is also seen as a way of supporting women into leadership. Over the past decade, the London baton has been passed several times.

“There’s nervousness in saying ‘I don’t want to be a chapter lead anymore’, but it’s a wonderful thing,” says Hartley. “The decision to move on has to be celebrated. It shows they’ve reached that point. That the role has given them the opportunity to develop their leadership skills.”

Fisher and Hartley laugh, remembering their very first Urbanistas meet-up a decade ago in an architect’s office. An urbanista arrived late and was asked by the front desk if they were there for “the yoga class” – despite the absence of yoga mats or workout clothes – because a group of women couldn’t possibly be meeting up for anything but yoga, and especially not to talk about their creative vision for cities. 

As for the next ten years? There’s an openness to evolution regarding the future of Urbanistas, but also a fervent desire to keep it simple, not least because the volunteer organisation depends on women putting in extra hours outside of work. The meets are easy to pull together and cost-efficient, and the impact is big.

“There’s a really lovely atmosphere and vibe in an Urbanistas meet. If I could bottle it, we’d be instant billionaires,” adds Hartley.

“It’s really just quite a lot of fun with some wine and some crisps and maybe some guacamole, with a lot of laughter and sometimes tears,” Fisher says.

And it’s working, so why mess with a good thing?

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