Critical Conversations
Centering community knowledge to shape equitable, global development.
Critical Conversations is a global forum advancing regenerative development through climate data, equity frameworks, and financial innovation. Each session explores how to align people, policy, and capital for long-term community wealth.
From the Bronx to Kigali — Aligning Climate, Capital & Community
About the Series
The Critical Conversations series creates space for rigorous, grounded dialogue across borders—bringing together community leaders, investors, designers, and policymakers to reimagine the systems shaping our cities. From New York to Kigali, we ask: Who holds the power to design futures? Who benefits? Who decides?
We’re building a bridge between global insight and local action. Our conversations turn data into design and dialogue into measurable change.
Our Origin Story
The first Critical Conversation took place in the Bronx, NY — a community defined by resilience, creativity, and inequitable urban planning.
There, we brought together residents, developers, and policymakers to ask one question: How do we develop without displacement?
That question became the foundation for Critical Conversations — now a global framework linking policy, finance, and community data to drive equitable regeneration.
Key Geographic Contexts
we are Advancing several deep, interconnected focus areas to build equitable, climate-adaptive ecosystems.
US Series
As we continue building relationships with various stakeholders, it's crucial to also build a shared understanding of how money moves — and how to realign incentives, policies, and investment vehicles to drive equitable regeneration in legacy cities.
Rwanda Series
Through a partnership between Regal.ia x Imali, Mecca Development has expanded the Critical From Informal to Investable — Rethinking Housing, Labor, and Capital for Regenerative Growthseries to Kigali, Rwanda .
U.S. Series: Aligning Capital for Community Wealth
Across legacy cities, we’re aligning policy incentives, capital flows, and community ownership models to design systems of equity. Each conversation connects stakeholders with tools to operationalize change.
Focus Topics:
- Aligning Stakeholders for Impact
- Policy Incentives for Climate-Equity Integration
- Understanding Capital Flows
- Green Finance & Strategic Syndication
Rwanda Series: Building a Regenerative Economy
From informal markets to climate-ready cities, Rwanda’s development model is redefining global sustainability. This series explores tokenization, green finance, and circular supply chains that center local innovation.
Focus Topics:
- Tokenization & Digital Land Access
- Labor & Material Supply Chain Localization
- Green Finance & Global Investment Opportunities
- Design for Informal Housing Transitions
2026 Critical Conversations Series
| Date | Title | Location | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | Circular Supply Chains: From Waste to Wealth | Virtual | Material Innovation, Green Finance |
| Feb 2026 | Equity by Design | Milwaukee | Adaptive Reuse, Affordable Housing |
| Apr 2026 | AI for Urban Equity | Virtual | Data Ethics, Planning Tech |
| May 2026 | Regenerative Housing Futures | Kigali | Tokenization, Informal Housing |
| July 2026 | The Bronx Returns | NYC | Community Wealth, Policy Innovation |
Where Dialogue Meets Data
Every conversation feeds directly into Regal.ia, our digital platform turning dialogue into data.
Insights gathered from the Bronx to Kigali inform policy briefs, development models, and investment strategies that make equity measurable and actionable.
News + Insights
