The most important parts of a place are often the ones you never see. Beneath every building, streetscape, farm, neighborhood, and public space are the systems that decide whether a project can actually work: water supply, wastewater, stormwater, grading, energy, soils, roads, and the hidden infrastructure that either limits or enables what a place can become. In this episode, Neal sits down with Adam Mekies of Sherwood Design Engineers to explore why civil engineering deserves a front-row seat in regenerative real estate. Adam is a licensed landscape architect, associate principal at Sherwood, co-author of Codify: Parametric and Computational Design in Landscape Architecture, and co-founder of the Geotechnical Urbanism Foundation. His work sits at the intersection of computation, ecological systems, infrastructure, and development. Together, Neal and Adam go beneath the surface of real estate to ask how infrastructure can move beyond extraction and disposal toward reuse, circularity, and regeneration. They discuss why remote and off-grid developments often break down around energy, water, and wastewater; how water scarcity and water rights force better design; and why Adam says many places become “cities designed by sewer” when infrastructure follows the shortest path instead of the healthiest system. Adam also shares a practical framework for thinking about infrastructure through inputs and outputs. Wastewater, for example, is not just something to remove from a site. It contains water, nutrients, solids, and biosolids — all of which can potentially become part of a larger resource system through reuse, biodigestion, composting, energy production, or nature-based treatment. The conversation also gets into the role of computation and AI in regenerative infrastructure. Adam explains how tools like Ecocircuit AI can help teams rapidly explore circular infrastructure options, test ideas earlier in concept design, understand footprint and cost, and connect complex ecological systems back to development feasibility. From Google Bay View’s water-positive campus to district-scale water reuse, digital twins, and pro forma modeling, this episode is a grounded look at what it takes to move regenerative real estate from aspiration into execution. For developers, landowners, investors, designers, and anyone working at the intersection of real estate, infrastructure, water, and ecology, this conversation is a reminder that the future of place depends on the systems we usually hide. ——————— The Regenerative Real Estate Podcast is an independent show exploring the people, projects, and capital reshaping how land gets used and communities get built. Two organizations grew directly out of this work, and they're worth knowing: Hamlet Capital finances and advises on projects that integrate agriculture and conservation with mixed-use development. If you're building one or looking to invest, let's talk. Latitude is a real estate brokerage representing sanctuary properties rooted in nature, beauty, and meaningful living.
