Understanding and designing nature experiences in cities: a framework for biophilic urbanism

Abstract

Increasing evidence shows that creating and maintaining relationships with nature is important for human wellbeing. Humanity has become a mostly urbanised species where people typically spend most of their time indoors. It is important then that strategies for deliberately bringing aspects of nature into urban spaces are explored. Design that responds to an understanding of people's innate connection to the living world can be termed biophilic design. This research defines a unique biophilic urbanism framework for analysing and mapping biophilic urban elements. Thirty characteristics of biophilic cities were identified and then used to map Wellington, New Zealand. Observations arising from the research include: 1/ while access to wild nature might be an important characteristic of a biophilic city, planned design interventions are also significant; and 2/ when identified biophilic elements form part of a larger interconnected spatial experience through time, positive effects may be enhanced. This can enable identification of strategic locations for biophilic interventions in the wider urban fabric to facilitate more effective urban nature experiences. This suggests that biophilic urbanism must encompass a wide range of human sensory information, and should be designed from a four-dimensional (i.e. including time) perspective. Keywords: biophilic design; urban design; urban nature; GIS mapping, Wellington, nature experience. Introduction: evidence of the benefit of human-nature relationshipsHuman survival is dependent on ecosystems and the biodiversity they contain (Bastian et al., 2012). This is because the diverse range of organisms inhabiting the planet affect ecosystem processes and functions, and therefore ecosystem services (Brook et al., 2013, Norberg et al., 2012. Ecosystem services are the benefits that humans (and other living organisms) derive, either directly or indirectly from the functions of ecosystems (Potschin and Haines-Young, 2016). At the same time that global biodiversity loss has accelerated (Ceballos et al., 2015), humanity has become an urbanised species. The trend towards urbanisation is rapidly increasingly globally, particularly in developing nations, with the proportion of total urban dwellers on the planet set to reach more than 70% by 2050 (Zhang, 2016). Combined with this, urbanised people in developed countries tend to spend high proportions (up to 90%) of time indoors (Matz et al., 2014). This has three important biodiversity-human relationship impications. Firstly, cities must be taken into account in terms of the large negative impact they have on biodiversity (Aronson et al., 2014). Secondly, because people are dependant on ecosystem services, which in part are supported by biodiversity, the abundance or lack of urban biodiversity directly impacts the majority of humans (Taylor and Hochuli, 2015). Finally, as urbanisation increases, cities tend to become more dense, and pressure on urban green spaces occurs. This means there is a risk that urban populations will experience nega...

Centring localised indigenous concepts of wellbeing in urban nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation: case-studies from Aotearoa New Zealand and the Cook Islands

“…This means that the design of urban nature-based interventions can more strategically consider the causes of health and wellbeing (rather than just the causes of disease). For example, the spatial design and materiality of buildings and their facades, as well as public works of art and soundscapes, and the experiences of these in linked urban spaces impacts on experiences of human-nature relationship in cities (Pedersen Zari, 2019). Specific cultural interpretations of nature and human-nature relationships, as well as the inclusion of specific native or cultural keystone plant species are also highly important, particularly in the context of Indigenous communities (Rodgers et al, 2023).…”

Biophilia Upscaling: A Systematic Literature Review Based on a Three-Metric Approach

“…Human-nature interaction offers advantages to people, living beings, and the environment; on the contrary, the natural surroundings also encourage more frequent and impactful exchanges. P&N/D&P [69] P&N [70] SSH/D&P/ES [71] D&P/ES [72] D&P/P&N/SSH [73] D&P/ES [74] D&P/ES 2017 [75] SSH/P&N [76] SSH/D&P/P&N [77] D&P/ES/P&E [78] D&P/ES/P&E 2018 [17] SSH/D&P/P&N [79] M&B/P&N [80] M&B [81] M&B [82] M&B/P&N [83] P&N [84] P&N [85] P&E 2019 [20] P&N/D&P [86] M&B/D&P [87] M&B [88] M&B [89] M&B/P&N [90] P&N/D&P [91] D&P [92] D&P/ES/SSH [93] D&P [94] D&P [95] P&E/D&P [96] P&E 2020 [7] P&N/D&P [97] ECS [98] P&N/D&P [99] P&N/SSH/ECS [100] SSH/D&P [101] SSH [102] D&P/P&E [103] D&P/ES 2021 [1] D&P/ES [23] D&P/ES [25] D&P/P&N [45] M&B/P&N …”

“…Zari [94] Carbon neutrality/ climate resilience/ sustainability [114] Items sorted by sector/dimension. The color distinction is related to the type of experience.…”

Designing Function-Specific Plant Systems for Sustainable Urban Development

“…This issue depicts what our cities could look like: sustainable, resilient, and beautifully designed. Central to future cities thinking is the concept of biomorphic urbanism: the idea that the natural world can inspire how we design the spaces we inhabit and how our cities function (Beatley and Newman, 2013;Kindel, 2019;Pedersen Zari, 2019). This push toward sustainable urbanism is sorely needed.…”