31 July 2023
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17 July 2023
![A picture of a large tree cut down with limbs and sawdust everywhere](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/TNOC-Figure-1-604x270.jpg)
Several weeks ago, I was startled when taking a typical morning walk to find that a large and majestic white oak tree had been cut down and lay in the front of a neighbor’s yard. It was a shocking and sad sight, a tree I had admired almost daily, reduced...
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26 June 2023
![Two maps of a city showing temperature through cool or warm coolers](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Abb_Temp-604x270.jpg)
Assessing the cooling function of urban parks under heat and drought conditions Thanks to the cooling function of the vegetation, urban parks offer cool, pleasant places in cities during hot summer days. Urban parks are also places for recreation and social interaction. In parks, people go jogging or cycling, meet...
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21 June 2023
![Three maps of Boston, MA depicting urban heat](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/CDC.UHI_.SCORE-Maps3-604x270.jpg)
Cities everywhere are getting hotter due to climate change and the urban heat island. Places like the Pacific Northwest in the United States, which historically was not concerned about extreme heat as a climate risk, have experienced unprecedented heatwaves in recent years (White et al. 2023). These deadly events, as...
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13 June 2023
![A picture of a woman with headphones and a laptop sitting amongst large, leafy plants](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/HJ-Touching-e1686682177496-604x270.jpeg)
In early 2018, the Assiniboine Park Conservancy, which is located in the western part of the city of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada, announced that they would be demolishing their conservatory in April, citing the end of the structure’s lifespan. At that time, artist Helga Jakobson was experimenting with designs for...
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12 June 2023
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29 May 2023
![A picture of a waterway full of trash with some vegetation on the banks](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IMG_20190910_105716-min-604x270.jpg)
“Sewage water is a bonus for us.” This is what a farmer in the east Kolkata wetlands had to say about the traditional practice of farming using a mix of sewage and freshwater. The wetlands situated in peri-urban Kolkata, a metropolitan city in eastern India, have a fascinating history linked...
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17 May 2023
![A picture of a grey bird with a yellow belly perched on a branch](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Hostetler2-604x270.jpg)
Interior-forest specialist birds are reported to primarily require large, undisturbed forest areas in which to breed (Archer et al. 2019). Why do these species need interior forest conditions? Conservationists and research suggest that these species are vulnerable to the increased predators that are found in fragmented areas. Also, the abundance...
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8 May 2023
![A picture of a young girl drinking water from her cupped hands](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Wallee1-604x270.jpg)
The growing significance of sachet water in Ghana — the machine-sealed 500ml plastic bags of drinking water, known in local parlance as “pure water” — as a primary source of drinking water for households is important. It has a major impact towards the achievement of universal access to improved drinking...
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5 May 2023
![A picture of a park with a walking trail, trees, and a bench](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PUInfantado-Loures3_MAragao-604x270.jpg)
As urbanization intensifies around the world, and the devastating effects of global warming are increasingly evident, it is vital to promote urban ecosystems as a tool to achieve ecological balance within the city. Urban ecosystems are the base to guarantee healthy and sustainable places to live, work and visit. Urban...
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24 April 2023
![A picture of a walkway through a park with many tall trees](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Paths-604x270.jpg)
In Argentina, as a long weekend arrives many people living in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires flee from the concrete and asphalt in search of Nature. There are many destination possibilities, but one that is undoubtedly a favorite is a garden city, 370 km south of Buenos Aires, which...
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17 April 2023
![A picture of a tiny white moth perched on a person's thumb](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Kellogg3-604x270.jpg)
According to modernist philosophy, cities are “human only” spaces built by and for the exclusive use of homo sapiens ― clean, sterile, artifacts of human imagination that symbolize humanity’s separation from nature. Aside from cultivated garden plants and a handful of companion or work animals whose presence is tolerated, non-human...
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11 April 2023
![A picture of a map with the colors going from cooler to warmer as they get closer to the center](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/A-spatial-pattern-of-LondonIntegration-1024x917-1-604x270.png)
How economic flows and bottlenecks affect urban growth When we encounter a contradiction, it’s very likely that we are facing an unresolved “problem of organized complexity,” to paraphrase Jane Jacobs. Such is the situation with the crisis of urban home affordability and NIMBYism, where everyone agrees that the supply of...
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3 April 2023
![An illustration of a person wearing VR googles with space and the earth behind them](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/vr-604x270.png)
Over the last few months, the metaverse has captured the attention of many professionals, including urban planners. While some may fear a Spielberg-like scenario where we stop caring for our physical world, we can also think of the metaverse as a gateway to inclusion ― where most people could help...
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27 March 2023
![A picture of a cover of a book depicting several photos of people, buildings, and the NYC skyline](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Naming-Gotham-front-cover-604x270.jpg)
I spent the last few years working on and off on a book that I tentatively titled Who Was That Major Deegan Anyway? That title reflected the book’s origin story. My husband Allen and I used to get stuck in traffic on the Major Deegan every time we tried to...
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18 March 2023
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The Harrisons (Helen Mayer Harrison (1927-2018) and Newton Harrison (1932-2022)) are widely acknowledged as pioneers in bringing together art and ecology into a new form of practice. They worked for over fifty years with biologists, ecologists, architects, urban planners, and other artists to initiate collaborative dialogues. The works they made...
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18 March 2023
![A picture of two people sitting on chairs on a stage](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Harrisons-at-Darwin-Symposium-604x270.png)
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13 March 2023
![Two side-by-side pictures of a grassy field, one in infrared to show heat signatures](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Wojcik-min-604x270.png)
What connects all upper-middle-class houses, public institutions’ buildings, stadiums, and golf fields? A hint: it is aesthetic, it is high-maintenance, and it is a prime example of a single species use. The answer is ― the lawn. The history of lawns goes back to the late Middle Ages, and is,...
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6 March 2023
![A picture of a sidewalk with people walking, cycling, and moving potted trees](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Vollmann1-604x270.jpg)
Due to urban densification processes and increasing confrontation with climate change, cities face the need to organize their public space in efficient and sustainable ways that take current needs as well as those of future generations into account. The Green Infrastructure (GI) concept is a widely used concept, introducing various...
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27 February 2023
![A picture of the side of a building with several metal staircases and fire escapes coming down with greenery around them](https://www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Montreal_staircase2-604x270.jpeg)
Urban building codes and design standards play a crucial role in how a city adapts to contemporary challenges, like climate change and urbanization. I live in Montréal where, like many cities in the world, building codes largely came into force on account of two big urban phenomena: fire and disease....
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