Urban CurioCity

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The 100+ Year Plan

Interested in going on the ultimate adventure?  Then I’d love you to join me on my journey!

A few years ago, I wrote myself a vision statement. It was an eight page manifesto; a statement on the sort of person I wanted to become both professionally and personally, my list of life priorities, and characteristics of people I admired and wanted to learn from. Like most vision statements, I had my five, 10 and 20 year goals, but I had also written the beginnings of my 100+ year plan.

'What is a 100+ year plan?', you may ask.  :)  Let me tell you!  

A 100+ year plan is everything you would do if you had all the time and resources in world.  It's a bold list of things, which can be filled with little activities that you've always promised you'd get around to, but never quite found the time; to those big, crazy, highly adventurous experiences that take great guts and determination. The most important thing is that your 100+ year plan is honest and focused on the things most important to you.

Beware! Embarking on such a writing exercise comes with surprising side effects…

  1. It will make you an optimist
  2. It will make you honest  
  3. It may make you more empathetic to the world around you  
  4. It may  make you the ultimate advocate for meaningful action and long-term vision  

At some point, all of this will culminate; making you more focused and ready to start pursuing your 100+ year plan!

The Urban CurioCity Project is this for me.  Finding answers to our Big Urban Challenges is going to take tenacity and strength to hunt down the change-makers and projects that will make a difference.  

But my 100+ year plan is also about experiencing everything the world has to offer; immersing myself in the wonders and everyday experiences within our cities. Because how can we truly create adaptable, resilient cities of the future if we don't truly understand the lives of the people that live in them?

What would make this the most amazing adventure is if I could tick these items off with you!  Yes, YOU!

If something on this list resonates with you, or you have an item that you would like to read about or experience, let me know. It could be:  

  • A personal passion project - something that you've been working on that needs a little helping hand; or
  • A place or experience that you've always dreamt of seeing or doing.

Please feel free to send me an email, or post in the comments below, and let's see if we can make it happen!

 

Katrie's 100+ Year Plan

  1. Learn how to sail and sail between two countries
  2. Cycle around Cuba
  3. Cycle across national borders
  4. Stay in a haunted castle
  5. Hitch hike
  6. Road trip in a manual car
  7. Travel to China, and visit the bridge and school dedicated to my late Grandfather
  8. Trace my ancestral heritage
  9. Travel to Scotland and bag a few Munros
  10. Trek between Xinjiang and Pakistan
  11. Actually visit, live and work on a real farm
  12. Spend an afternoon with a famous musician / artist / designer / writer / philosopher / politician
  13. Volunteer for a wildlife organisation
  14. Learn how to grow an organic farm
  15. Dumpster dive
  16. Get singing lessons and perform live somewhere (maybe X factor, busk?)
  17. Stay north until I see a proper brilliant Northern Lights
  18. Explore the music scene around the world.  Go to a music festival...or many!
  19. Collect recipes
  20. Spend time understanding the science of Climate Change.  Undertake Climate Change research.
  21. Visit and profile the great work of Pollinate Energy in India
  22. Make and fly a kite
  23. Build a sandcastle
  24. Learn how to rollerblade
  25. Learn a new language (or many?)
  26. Learn how to learn to speak Chinese fluently
  27. Re-attempt to learn how to speak French and Hungarian
  28. See the Cherry Blossom festival in Japan
  29. Travel to Catalonia to see the Castells Festival
  30. Visit Sigiriya Rock, Sri Lanka
  31. Attend the University of Amsterdam's Planning the Cycling City Summer School
  32. Finish knitting my dog Jessie's jumper
  33. <Comment below to add your experience to the 100+ year plan!>

Last updated: 26 March 2017