{"id":3282,"date":"2021-07-23T12:27:37","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T11:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theurbanmycelium.com\/?p=3282"},"modified":"2023-02-23T14:58:11","modified_gmt":"2023-02-23T13:58:11","slug":"enneagram-and-city-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theurbanmycelium.com\/fr\/enneagram-and-city-making\/","title":{"rendered":"What we can learn from the enneagram to make better cities"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Those of you who are interested in personal development may have heard about the enneagram. The enneagram is a very old approach that finds its roots in antiquity. It is a powerful tool for understanding yourself and improving your relationships with others.<\/p>\n

When I discovered the enneagram, it really felt like if I had put new glasses on with the right correction. I suddenly saw my behaviour and personality in a completely different lens. Rather than putting me in a \u201cbox\u201d, which can be the downside of personal development tools, the enneagram actually helped me see<\/em> the box in which I had grown up.<\/p>\n

Because the structure of our personality is just like a box. When we are faced with danger, or any situation that we perceive as threatening, we automatically activate a very strong defence system that protects the structure of our personality, and pushes the pain away. All of that is most often unconscious and completely automatic. Our defence system is this very sturdy box that protects our identity and nicely keeps our personality together. Especially as a kid, it has been very useful and has served us many times. However, this box can easily become a wall, because it maintains us in an automatic system with recurring thoughts, emotions and actions.<\/p>\n

So, it is important to acknowledge the box in which we have grown up, and also to see outside of it. Because there are other people stuck in their very own boxes, out there. The enneagram actually says that there are 9 different lenses in which we see the world. There is so much to learn from this.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Alright, but what does it have to do with city making?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, cities are made<\/em> of people. They are shaped<\/em> by people, people with different lenses in which they see the world. How is our personality influencing the way we make cities? Are current cities fairly suited to the great diversity of our personalities? I find these questions fascinating. Exploring the intersection between urbanism and the psychology of personality not only can help make sense of the way we shape our environment, but it can also help us improve the way we make cities together, in turn creating a built environment that better suits our various personalities.<\/p>\n

I would like to point out that the enneagram is a living approach, that you experience, more than you theorize. You can learn a lot about yourself by reading books and taking tests online, but you will always go in much more depth by practicing through internships and panels, where people who have found themselves in their enneagram type and instinct share live testimonies. If you are French speaking, I warmly encourage you to follow the trainings provided by Ennea 9<\/a>, in Nantes, which provides transformative journeys grounded in the narrative tradition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What is the enneagram?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Combining the 2 Greek words ennea (the number nine) and gramma (figure, diagram), the enneagram is a 9-point geometric symbol describing 9 types of personalities. Each of the 9 enneagram types has a different way of thinking, feeling and acting, with different behaviours and habits.<\/p>\n

The enneagram is based on the combination of 2 principles:<\/p>\n