Cities and nature have often been conceived as opposing realities, with the beginning of one identifying the end of the other. Today, however, cities are increasingly understood as complex ecosystems, subject to transformative processes that call for new visions of integration and bring nature back to the center of their evolution.
\nThe need for a greater connection between man and nature is gradually becoming widespread, together with an awareness of all the benefits that this relationship offers. In a world where the population is progressively concentrated in urban areas and will continue to grow in the future, the challenge is to make cities livable and sustainable.<\/p>\n
As a result, the principle of biophilia is becoming increasingly important and is establishing itself as one of the new essential components in both architectural and urban design.
\nThe term ‘biophilia’ literally means ‘love of life’ and describes the innate human affinity for nature and natural environments. Biologist Edward O. Wilson popularized the concept in his 1984 book ‘Biophilia’. Wilson suggests that humans have a biological predisposition to seek relationships with nature and other forms of life. This affinity has developed through millions of years of evolution, during which humans have lived in close interaction with the natural environment.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the vision of biophilic design, which aims to make natural elements part of the extended experience of the city in an accessible and integrated way, is based on nature as a primary human need.
\nThe Biophilic Cities Network, launched in 2013, works actively and collaboratively to consolidate this way of thinking about cities and their planning. It represents a global movement, a network of partner cities, and an emerging set of practices that prioritize nature as a central element to be experienced in everyday life. Biophilic cities, such as Singapore, San Francisco, and Barcelona, aim to protect and activate the ecology of places, with outcomes ranging from promoting people’s psycho-physical well-being, to fostering biodiversity and supporting strategies to tackle air pollution and climate change, encouraging more sustainable and healthy lifestyles.<\/p>\n
The recent World Economic Forum guidelines on ‘Nature-Positive Cities’ also reinforce this direction and envisage the adoption of measures on a global scale to support coordinated action for the transition of cities to nature and the restoration of biodiversity. Parks, gardens, the presence of water, green spaces and gardens associated with or integrated into buildings, and permeable surfaces are some of the solutions that a nature-based approach can incorporate in a comprehensive and structured way.
\nMoreover, these are practices that not only aim to provide more green spaces in cities but also integrate co-creation processes that are fundamental to promoting active citizen participation and social inclusion, as well as strengthening the sense of belonging to places.<\/p>\n
The great potential for change inherent in cities and their aggregated capacity for resources and opportunities can thus have a decisive impact on increasing their levels of adaptability and resilience and positively influence the quality of life in the present and the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cities and nature have often been conceived as opposing realities, with the beginning of one identifying the end of the other. Today, however, cities are increasingly understood as complex ecosystems,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n