Listen to the episode:

Check out the shownotes through this link.

---

Are you interested in understanding cities are nature?

---

Our summary today works with the book titled Biourbanism: Cities as nature – a resilience model for anthromes from 2022 by Adrian McGregor, published by Biourbanism Publishing. This is a great preparation for our next interviewee, Adrian McGregor, talking about biourbanism in episode 190. Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how cities can be translated as part of nature. This book gives a new pathway for cities to decarbonise and increase their resilience to the climate crises.

[intro music]

---

Welcome to today’s What is The Future For Cities podcast and its Research episode; my name is Fanni, and today I will introduce a research paper by summarising it. The episode really is just a short summary of the original paper, and, in case it is interesting enough, I would encourage everyone to check out the whole paper. Stay tuned until because I will give you the 3 most important things and some questions which would be interesting to discuss.

---

[music]

Cities are the answer to the climate emergency. The global influence of 21st century cities is unprecedented. In successfully driving the world economy they have become the biggest polluter of the only planet we have and are now responsible for more than 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Still mostly powered by outmoded fossil-based energy technologies, cities need to leap rapidly into the future. Thus, they need to embrace our latest bio technologies that mimic nature and jettison aging, polluting energy infrastructure. Those that move the fastest will be the most resilient to increasingly extreme weather events. If we can rapidly decarbonise the world’s 10,000+ cities, we can successfully slow global warming.

In “Biourbanism: Cities as Nature – A Resilience Model for Anthromes,” Adrian McGregor presents a transformative vision for urban design in the Anthropocene epoch. This era, defined by significant human impact on the Earth, has seen cities emerge as both economic powerhouses and major environmental polluters, responsible for a substantial portion of global greenhouse gas emissions. The crux of this work lies in reimagining the urban landscape. Cities, traditionally seen as separate from the natural world, are reclassified as “anthromes” or human-modified biomes. This perspective shifts the paradigm of urban planning towards a more ecological and sustainable approach.

Central to this new vision is the Biourbanism model. Stemming from ecological science and landscape architecture theory, the biourbanism model is based on ten interconnected bio and urban systems that together determine the health, prosperity and resilience of cities. It views cities as complex, living systems, where biological and urban elements interact dynamically. The model integrates five biological systems (Citizens, Food, Landscape, Water, Waste) with five urban systems (Economy, Energy, Infrastructure, Mobility, Technology). The health and resilience of a city are seen as the product of these systems working in harmony.

A key theme is the move away from fossil-fuel-based infrastructures towards sustainable, nature-mimicking solutions. This shift is crucial for creating healthier urban spaces and addressing the climate crisis. The role of advanced technologies like digital twins and AI is highlighted as instrumental in this transformation. These tools aid in predicting the impacts of natural disasters and monitoring environmental changes, guiding cities towards a sustainable future. Practical examples and case studies pepper the narrative, illustrating the application of the Biourbanism model. These real-world examples provide blueprints for transforming urban landscapes into sustainable, resilient, and thriving environments. The book also emphasizes the importance of local actions, highlighting the role of local governments and communities in driving change. There’s a strong focus on the human-nature connection, underscoring the need to design cities that reflect our interconnectedness with the natural world.

Thus, Biourbanism: Cities as Nature – A Resilience Model for Anthromes is a visionary work that advocates for a radical rethinking of urban design. It calls for a shift towards cities that are integrated with nature and equipped to face the challenges of the climate emergency. This work is not just theoretical but a practical guide and a call to action for transforming our urban landscapes into sustainable, resilient, and prosperous environments.

Challenges to our health have been met, and overcome, as a global collective. But the biggest threat facing humanity – the climate emergency – has not been given the same priority. Plant and animal species are disappearing at unprecedented rates, poverty is on the rise, and many cities, where most of us live, are choking. Now is the time to build resilience. It’s time we embraced science and viewed our cities as part of nature – as ecological systems whose survival is inextricably linked to the planet’s ecosystems. It’s time to radically rethink and reinvent how cities are designed. Cities can be the solution to the climate emergency. Let’s renew our cities to change the course of history.

[music]

---

What was the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Do you have any follow up question? Let me know on Twitter at WTF4Cities or on the wtf4cities.com website where the transcripts and show notes are available! Additionally, I will highly appreciate if you consider subscribing to the podcast or on the website. I hope this was an interesting paper for you as well, and thanks for tuning in!

---

[music]

Finally, as the most important things, I would like to highlight 3 aspects:

1. Cities, responsible for a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions, have the potential to be central in addressing the climate emergency.
2. The biourbanism model views cities as dynamic ecosystems, emphasizing the harmonious integration of various systems like food, water, energy, and technology to promote urban resilience and prosperity.
3. The book proposes a paradigm shift in urban planning, advocating for cities to be designed as extensions of the natural world, focusing on ecological sustainability and human-nature connectivity.

Additionally, it would be great to talk about the following questions:

1. How can the biourbanism model be effectively implemented in rapidly growing urban areas while balancing economic and environmental needs?
2. What do you see as potential challenges and benefits in transitioning existing cities to the biourbanism framework, especially in terms of infrastructure and public acceptance?
3. How can you use this biourbanism thinking in your urban life?

[outro music]

---