As the number of calls and projects to rewild the countryside multiply, it’s important to remember that our cities replaced ecosystems and are themselves habitats for their populations, which means they could benefit from rewilding too. This piece at The Guardian looks at beauty, biodiversity and the biophilic cities movement.

[W]e could have buildings that are intimately connected to the living systems that have evolved with us, that celebrate the human-nature connection that is central to our wellbeing. […]

Our cities could be rewilded and become habitats for native species everywhere, even in the densest of city centre environments, while also creating engaging community spaces for people.

Some projects around the world do just that, but perhaps the most important and less common goal mentioned here is that of connecting green areas and varied initiatives. To truly become better habitats for more varied flora and fauna, miscellaneous projects need to be connected and flow into each other, so that the benefits can be spread around but also to be more diverse and solid living spaces.

As with many ideas around climate change and species extinction, it’s not only important to push in new directions, but also to rethink how we do things from the ground up.

If we viewed our developments as spaces for nature, from which we cut out the spaces for human use rather than ones where we design for human use and add a token amount of green to them at the edge, we will have a chance at bringing people and nature into a healthy balance.