Séminaire - Invité : Juho Rajaniemi (Tampere University, Finland), "The roots and fruits of urban rewilding – A planner’s perspective"

The roots and fruits of urban rewilding – A planner’s perspective

Juho  Rajaniemi – Tampere University, Finland

Plants and animals, as well as parks and other green and blue urban spaces, have been essential parts of cities since their inception. Until very recently, however, they have been subjected to human-centered urban planning. For instance, the Garden City movement, Le Corbusier’s Ville Radieuse, forest suburbs, ecocities, and other 20th-century urban planning theories favored urban greenery primarily from the perspective of human well-being.

Interestingly, increased awareness and knowledge of biodiversity's importance have profoundly changed urban planning practices over the past 20 years. A true Kuhnian paradigm shift in urban planning seems to be underway. At present, we are witnessing the rise of relatively novel urban planning concepts, such as nature-based solutions, green infrastructure planning, multispecies approaches, ecosystem services, biophilic urban design, and urban rewilding. Some of these concepts, like ecosystem services, still focus on human well-being, while some others are more concerned with ecosystems and all life in cities. Urban rewilding, in particular, is an emerging planning practice that enhances biodiversity locally. At the same time, it also provides various benefits for humans, a fact increasingly supported by scientific evidence