Nature
An effort is underway to reintroduce a natural habitats along a stretch of postindustrial Chicago River canal-scape. Floating garden modules are being used to attract species back to the area.
The Chicago Tribune
The healthiest neighborhoods are both walkable and green, according to a growing body of evidence.
PlaceMakers
Everyone has a different answer on what makes a great place, depending on how wonky you'd like to get. Kaid Benfield lists his top 10 ingredients for a healthy community.
PlaceMakers
Living near vegetation appears to be linked to a longer life and better mental health—for women, at least.
CNN
After six years of successful Smart City Expo World Congresses in Barcelona, the island of Majorca will host one that focuses exclusively on islands. It will focus on technology and innovation, and address unique challenges islands face.
Cities of the Future
All that pollen in the air giving you the sneezes is probably because of all the male trees your city has been planting.
Greater Greater Washington
Designing trails means serving many masters. Those who do it professionally must balance aesthetics with practical concerns like drainage.
99% Invisible
Susan Henderson shares some thoughts about the alignment of issues contributing to well-being in cities.
PlaceShakers
When nature is integrated into urbanism, wellness surges. Hazel Borys looks at the benefits.
PlaceShakers
Researchers have made a positive link between increased greenery in a child's neighborhoods and a reduction in aggressive behavior.
Pacific Standard
In the traditional view, nature and digital technology clash. But for many people, tech can offer ways to better engage with parks.
KCET
Blog post
Ecologists offer scientific lessons in how to better build cities for humans and wildlife.
Blog post
The City of Calgary aims to restore 20 percent of its open space to increase biodiversity. Complex nature is—and needs to be seen as—foundational to our day-to-day lives, both for our well being, and the health of nature itself.
Blog post
A city has always been understood and defined as a pattern of human settlement. This op-ed suggests that a city needs to be a product of its environment, rather than the environment simply being a product of it.
Blog post
I wrote an urbanist Christmas wish list last week for Fast Forward Weekly. I figured I'd elaborate on one of my wishes for weedy nature and public art: disturbance oriented art.
NPR's Cities Project is crowdsourcing Instagram photos of nature creeping back into urban spaces.
NPR Cities Project
There is already good evidence that exposure to green landscapes is good for people. The next frontier of research in the health impacts of designed environments is to be able to quantify connections between design decisions and life expectancy.
ASLA The Dirt
Researcher Chris Ives suggests that rather than relying solely on economic gains to justify urban nature and biodiversity, community values may be more effective in gaining public support.
Sustainable Cities Collective
For years, science has been catching up to the intuitive wisdom that spending time in, or adjacent to, nature has physical and mental health benefits. The ASLA has collected a trove of this research in one easy to navigate website.
ASLA
Using two paradigms addressing synergies of nature and the city, Chuck Wolfe contrasts gradually merging animal and human habitats in the United States with calculated greening of city spaces overseas.
The Atlantic Cities
