The Nature of Cities

Global survey: Your perspective can directly shape the Roadmap for Citizen Action on #NbS — a guide that policymakers will use to understand what communities need to restore and protect nature.
Take the survey before 15 January.
➡️ thenatureofcities.typeform.com/to/iM8zPyV7

#TNOCEssay
What if cities stopped seeing green spaces as a burden and started seeing them as an invitation to nurture life?

Read the full essay 👉
buff.ly/YqwKZ1P

#urbanecology #greeninfrastructure #cities #biodiversity #stewardship

#throwback #TNOCEssay
Revisiting “The Elephant and the Ant” by María Aragão

As cities continue to grow, how can seeing the urban environment as an ecosystem — where balance matters — help us build more sustainable futures?

Dive into this TNOCEssay and join the discussion!
👉 buff.ly/hf29MWk

@biodiversa.eu @iclei-usa.bsky.social

Global Survey on Citizen Action & Nature
The people who shape the future of nature aren’t only politicians, they’re citizens, neighbours, activists, educators, volunteers… you.

This is your chance to tell policymakers what your community really needs.

ake the survey before Jan 15: buff.ly/5EGFVUC

#TNOCEssay
What happens when public servants walk rivers, dunes, and imagine their city in 2035?

Two NbS workshops in Curitiba & Florianópolis show how imagination + lived experience can spark real urban transformation.

How would YOU reimagine your city?

🔗 buff.ly/urnqtLL

#NbS #UrbanResilience

#TheNatureOfGraffiti
Walking through the Mariposa neighborhood above Bogotá, at 9000 feet, one might also get to see the transformation of a butterfly. Painted along a walkway, one can see the metamorphosis of a butterfly through its lifecycle, adding vibrancy to the city.
buff.ly/1s4M0ig

#TNOCEssay
What happens when you ask people around the world to photograph the outdoor places that keep them healthy?
Read the essay and join the conversation: buff.ly/SEdE9TS
#UrbanNature #HealthyCities #Photovoice #NatureForHealth #TNOC

#TNOCROUNDTABLERevisit
Some questions don’t age — they get more urgent.

Back in May 2017, TNOC asked:
To whom does a city’s nature belong?
Is it a commons, a public good… and who decides?

👉 Revisit the conversation:
buff.ly/xqH9tuw

#TNOCRoundtable
Murals are everywhere now— on schoolyards and salt boxes, buses and armories, waterfronts and wildlife refuges.

👉 How can murals be catalysts for climate and community action?

Read the full roundtable and join the conversation: buff.ly/XXJIUct

#TheNatureOfCities #Murals

Science2Story 🌿📚
Can comics help mainstream biodiversity, NbS, and climate science? At NBS Comics, we say yes.

With @biodiversa.eu, we turned 21 research projects into 3 engaging, science-based stories—each with QR codes linking to the research behind the plot.

Explore the comics 👉 buff.ly/kpyq57L

What Remains?
#TNOCEssay

Climate grief becomes memory and monument in Ghost Ships and Mourning Doves, the haunting exhibition by Robin Lasser and Sydney Brown at Chung 24 Gallery. What do we carry forward as the planet changes?

Read on The Nature of Cities.
buff.ly/oAlmJFU

#TNOCEssay
Canada’s Great Lakes Waterfront Trail links 170+ communities & First Nations along 2,250 miles of freshwater.
Now, 8 U.S. states are creating a companion trail — together forming a cross-border path of nature, people & shared waters.

Read: buff.ly/y0sFp2W

Art as a Catalyst for Climate Action
We’re proud to see TNOC artists and our director, David Maddox, bringing forward the conversation on how art, science, and design can intersect to reimagine urban spaces and inspire climate action.

🎥 Watch the full recordings on Vimeo here: buff.ly/gG7i1tD

From imagination to restoration!

In Gernika 🇪🇸, The Sound of a River 🌊 — one of our #NBSComics — is inspiring community engagement in a real river restoration.

Thank you @BettinaWilk for representing the spirit of TNOC so beautifully 💚

👉 nbscomics.com

#NatureBasedSolutions #StorytellingForChange

#TNOCEssay
Only 32.6% of environmental groups in Ontario include justice in their mission.

For co-author Tasmia, this wasn’t a statistic — it was personal. Feeling unseen in environmental spaces made her ask: What if environmentalism began by asking who belongs?

Read more:
buff.ly/D4Yq802

We bring together artists, scientists, practitioners, and community leaders from around the world to reshape how cities work. Your gift powers creativity, collaboration, and community-driven action toward cities that are resilient, sustainable, and just for all.

💚 Support TNOC buff.ly/vZEilMZ

#TNOCEssay
The Youth Advocacy Playbook: How Youth Mobilize Knowledge for a #FossilFreeFuture Praneeta Mudaliar—Mississauga, Canada

Read the full essay on The Nature of Cities and join the conversation: buff.ly/WRGShbW

#ClimateJustice #YouthVoices #FossilFreeFuture #ClimateActio

#TNOCFestival 2026
📍 Cali, Colombia | October 2026

We’re thrilled to announce that the next edition of The Nature of Cities Festival will take place in Cali, Colombia, in October 2026 — the first ever in Latin America!

Support us!
buff.ly/8LCNlye

New essay with @anoukfransen.bsky.social on the workshop we organized last spring in Detroit.

📢 The future is NOW! 5 BIG-5 team members (Alba, Roos, Àlex, Svetlana, & Xueyuan) shared their urgent perspectives on climate, justice, and biodiversity in the latest #TNOCRoundtable by @tnoc.bsky.social

They speak a language of survival and re-invention.

Click to read below⬇️

#TNOCessay
Detroit is not empty.
A participatory (counter) mapping workshop revealed the city’s networks of care, connection, and nature, challenging old narratives of “vacancy.”

How can mapping become a tool for empowerment and belonging, not exclusion?

Join the conversation 👇
🔗 buff.ly/wBlhCKH

#TheNatureOfGraffiti
Along a canal in Saint Denis, Paris, France, across the Street Art Avenue, fish don't only find themselves in water, but swim along the sides of homes too.

Add your photo to the gallery:
lnkd.in/dhHy_V9X

#TheNatureOfGraffiti
Along the streets of Medellín a special crow with a mechanical brain appears, reminding us of the intelligence of corvids and how graffiti can bring nature’s power and meaning into the city.

🌿 Have you spotted any nature graffiti? Share your photo 👉 buff.ly/yEt32qW

#TNOCEssay
Learning to Appreciate the Abundance (and Scarcity) of Water

In his essay, Tim Beatley draws us into Santa Fe’s ancient acequia tradition—water ditches governed by neighbors, cleaned by hands, and honored as a shared common.

Read the full essay → buff.ly/yXNuAtR

TNOC is heading to Cali, Colombia for #SemanaBioCali2025
2025 — 29 Sept to 5 Oct
At the Encuentro de Ciudades y Regiones por la Biodiversidad, David Maddox will close with a keynote:

✨ “1+1=3: Alchemies that Connect Science, Art, and Community”

buff.ly/CkTPpo6

🎤 Imagine this: you’re under 30. Someone hands you the mic. 🌍

What would YOU say about sustainability, climate change, and the biodiversity crisis?

👉 Read their voices here #TNOCROUNDTABLE www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/2025/09...

🌿 Big news! TNOC’s website just got an upgrade 🎉

✨ ASK: Art Science Knowledgebase — type a question, get instant answers from 1,200+ scientists, artists, activists & community leaders worldwide.

👉 Try it: thenatureofcities.com

#TheNatureOfCities

Join us for a day of dialogue on how public art can drive climate action and help us reimagine our cities!

📍 In person at Yale + online

Afternoon: A guided mural tour of New Haven (in-person only).

And, there is more!

Details & registration ➡️
lnkd.in/eFReP-Kdhttp...

City Leaders Featured Once Again by the Convention on Wetlands
María Mejía—Bogotá

👉 Read the full #TNOCessay and join the conversation:
www.thenatureofcities.com/TNOC/2025/09...

#UrbanWetlands #Cities4Nature #WetlandCity