At the age of 50, as a development and investment director of one of the big four property consulting businesses, I was well off and comfortable. With mid-life came an uncertain feeling that this was not enough and I began to question my motivation. Travelling abroad and experiencing first hand the sense of empowerment and collective achievement from those involved in building their own homes and communities, I realised we need a radical rethink of our approach to development from the bottom up not the top down. Behind this is a recognition that we need new models for living that offer resilience from the threat of global economic and environmental collapse and that the value of our relationships is far greater than that of the money in our pocket or the size of the roof over our heads. I have worked as an advisor to Local and National Government organisations and housing associations providing strategic advice in corporate restructuring; asset management and regeneration modelling and project and programme delivery and funding.I recently worked with Plymouth Council on the restoration and refurbishment of the iconic and listed Civic Centre and fulfil their wider ambition to transform the City Centre from a retail and visitor attraction to a home for up to 2000 people. Prior to that I worked with South Hams and West Devon Councils to pilot a new community house-building programme to stem the outflow of local people from villages they could no longer afford to live in. A Government funded pilot grant helped birth around a dozen new housing schemes. The Corona-virus pandemic highlighted the value of our keyworkers and also heralded changes in the fundamental structure of the commercial marketplace and invited us to consider how we manage our resources from changing work practices to our investment decisions.I remain, despite my receding hairline, excited at the opportunities this presents.