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Cities around the world face the growing challenge of maintaining a healthy balance between their development and the natural environment. To address these challenges, urban planners often use the concept of smart cities. At the same time, there is a broad push to bring nature back into cities, often in the form of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). NBS are crucial for creating a healthy and resilient environment/living space for people, animals and plants. As part of this approach, there is also a drive to review the ontology of the divide between humans and nature, which assumes that ‘humans’ are fundamentally different from and superior to ‘nature’, contributing to environmental and social injustices. During this dialogue, we will focus on the question: Can we break the divide between nature and people and have ecologically smart cities? Join this sustainability dialogue and engage with our speakers and the audience!

Programma

At 15.00 (Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia) will kick off the dialogue with a presentation on the role of urban forests. The values of urban forest and greenspace in our cities, for people and biodiversity, is increasingly recognised. Cities around the world are adopting canopy targets and greenspace policies, as well as implementing nature-based solutions to mitigate pollution, flooding and heat. Yet our urban forests are under threat from increasing urbanisation and climate change. will provide examples from the Australian experience and highlight current approaches to building resilience of our urban greenspace.

After Michelle’s presentation, Katharina Hecht will shortly pitch on ecosystem services in buildings,  will give a critical perspective on nature-based solutions and transformative change and Vivian Goerlich will talk about urban life from the perspective of liminal animals. Niki Frantzeskaki will invite you to join in a conversation on questions as:

• There is a broad push for more nature in the city but what does this mean for people living in the city?

• What is nature in the era of the Anthropocene and are urban citizens ready to co-habitate with nature?

• Do we really embrace nature and renaturing cities or we instrumentalise nature as another ‘fix’ or even ‘tool’ to urban neoliberal agendas?

• Can we combine smart, technological solutions with a more ecological and more holistic approach?

At 16.30 you are all invited for drinks and conversation!