If we design cities like ecosystems, they would have the potential to address many of our most pressing issues.
Of all the things people build, cities are the most important.
Cities are the largest things we build, and most people now live in them. But that’s not why cities are our most important invention.
Cities matter because they represent our greatest hope for long-term survival, not only for humans but for all species. They offer the best chance to dramatically reduce carbon pollution, provide shelter and community for the world’s growing human population, and protect rural habitat for species in decline.
But to make this hope a reality, we must recognize that cities — and people — are part of nature and subject to the same laws as the rest of nature.
For too long we have ignored the relationships between built and natural environments. Economic development has focused on “taming the wilderness” with technology. And while the “wilderness” is strikingly diverse, urban technology has been disturbingly monocultural.
ensia