How is the concept of “stewardship” and “care for local environments” expressed around the world?
   Nathalie Blanc, Paris    Lindsay Campbell, New York    Zorina Colasero, Puerto Princesa City    Kirk Deitschman, Waimānalo    Johan Enqvist, Cape Town    Emilio Fantin, Milan    Artur Jerzy Filip, Warsaw    Carlo Gomez, Puerto Princesa City    Cecilia Herzog, Rio de Janeiro    Michelle Johnson, New York City    Kevin Lunzalu, Nairobi    Patrick M. Lydon, Daejeon    Romina Magtanong, Puerto Princesa City    Heather McMillen, Honolulu    Ranjini Murali, Bangalore    Harini Nagendra, Bangalore    Ferus Niyomwungeri, Kigali    Ragene Palma, London    Beatriz Ruizpalacios,    Huda Shaka, Dubai    Erika Svendsen, New York    Abdallah Tawfic, Cairo    Diana Wiesner, Bogota    Xin Yu, Shenzhen

The High Line. Foreseen. Unforeseen.
   Adrian Benepe, New York

Nature, New York, and the Practice of Paying Attention
   Philip Silva, New York

The Two Planets of Urban Heat
   Rob McDonald, Basel

Taking the Long View: Looking at Landscape Restoration Through Varied Lenses
   Bruce Roll, Portland

Bishkek: Building on Old Bones
   Jennifer Baljko, Barcelona

Shifting the Paradigm: Art and Ecology Unite!
   Toby Query, Portland

Opportunities and Challenges in Working with Volunteers in Local Parks
   Lynn Wilson, Vancouver
Many voices. Greener cities. Better cities.

TNOC’s Mission

We believe the route to cities and communities that are better for nature and all people is through transdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration. We combine art, science, and practice in innovative and publicly available engagements for knowledge-driven, imaginative, and just green city making.

ESSAYS | POINT OF VIEW

ROUNDTABLES

EVENTS

Two side by side Google Maps images. Left a dense forested aerial view. Right a crowded neighborhood with streets lined with houses
We Need New Indicators to Understand Whether Greener Neighborhoods Reduce Obesity
Takemi Sugiyama,  Melbourne
Manoj Chandrabose,  Melbourne
Nyssa Hadgraft,  Melbourne
Suzanne Mavoa,  Melbourne

Obesity imposes a heavy burden on individuals and societies (Boutari and Mantzoros, 2022). Since obesity is difficult to cure and often coexists with other chronic conditions, public health efforts to prevent obesity are needed (McNally, 2024). However, a strategy focusing on individuals, simply telling people to eat less and exercise more, has not been successful (Blüher, 2019). It is important...
A group of people holding signs in front of trees
On The Psychology of Trees and How to Change It
Tim Beatley,  Charlottesville

I have come to believe that in the fight to save trees and forests in our cities, it is necessary to better understand what I am calling the “psychology of trees”, those factors and influences and patterns of thinking that affect the decisions individuals, developers, and even entire communities, make about protecting (or not) the trees and forests around them....
An aerial view of an oxbow river with many natural twists and turns
The goal is to mainstream Nature-based Solutions, by widening public acceptance and making it the standard and default practice of urban design. What will it take to get there?
James Bonner,  Glasgow |  Harriet Bulkeley,  Durham |  Tam Dean Burn,  Glasgow |  Stuart Connop,  London |  Bryce Corlett,  Norfolk |  Laura Costadone,  Norfolk |  Olukayode Daramola,  Surrey |  McKenna Davis,  Berlin |  Gillian Dick,  Glasgow |  Loan Diep,  New York City |  Niki Frantzeskaki,  Utrecht |  Zbigniew Grabowski,  Hartford |  Perrine Hamel,  Singapore |  Mariem EL Harrak,  Paris |  Cecilia Herzog,  Rio de Janeiro |  Nadja Kabisch,  Hannover |  Doris Knoblauch,  Berlin |  Frédéric Lemaître,  Paris |  Paola Lepori,  Brussels |  Patrick M. Lydon,  Daejeon |  David Maddox,  New York |  Israa Mahmoud,  Milan |  Timon McPhearson,  New York |  Seema Mundoli,  Bangalore |  Harini Nagendra,  Bangalore |  Caroline Nash,  London |  Neville Owen,  Melbourne |  Mitchell Pavao-Zuckerman,  College Park |  Eleanor Ratcliffe,  Surrey |  Kassia Rudd,  Freiburg |  Valentine Seymour,  Surrey |  David Simon,  London |  Takemi Sugiyama,  Melbourne |  Morro Touray,  Surrey |  Ibrahim Wallee,  Accra | 

THE NATURE OF CITIES FESTIVAL 2024

The Distance Between
Dreams and Reality
is Action

In 2024 we focus on translating knowledge to results. Join us.

EXHIBITS

PROJECTS

Reverberations

Reverberations An exhibition exploring the elements through art, science, and sound, Reverberations features more than 30 contributors from various disciplines in a multimedia experience. Produced by the USDA Forest Service and The Nature of Cities. This is an immersive sound-based exhibition. Headphones are recommended Enable Audio “Can you imagine listening to all that is sounding as if your body were...
Fiction

We asked people to imagine future cities, in the form of a flash or very short fiction. The series now includes two volumes: the latest is titled CITY IN A WILD GARDEN, a collection of 49 stories from 21 countries.
Poetry

With SPROUT, we are curating a space for trans- and multi-disciplinary collaborations between poets, researchers, and citizens with a focus on geographical diversity, polyvocality, and translation. We are a creative project of The Nature of Cities, specifically interested in the character of green cities from many ways of knowing.
The Just City Essays: 26 Visions for Urban Equity, Inclusion, and Opportunity

Today’s headlines—from Ferguson to Baltimore, Paris to Johannesburg—resound with the need for a frank conversation about the structures and processes that affect the quality of life and livelihoods of urban residents. Issues of equity, inclusion, race, participation, access and ownership remain unresolved in many communities around the world,  even as we begin to address the challenges of affordability, climate change adaptation and resilience.