Cities play a critical role in combatting the dual biodiversity extinction and climate crises
Biodiversity underpins human and societal well-being. Cities play a critical role in protecting and restoring biodiversity and nature, particularly as a means to respond to the dual biodiversity extinction and climate crises. In order to do so effectively, they must enhance their nature and biodiversity conservation efforts.
Melbourne Centre for Cities is contributing to three interrelated projects that promote urban nature. The first is an issue paper on nature in the city written in collaboration with ICLEI, The Nature Conservancy, and Metropolis. The paper examines the relationship between nature and cities through five key themes: biodiversity, human health and well-being, climate change, food security, and diverse urban forms. The Centre is also contributing to an exploratory research project supported by the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Architecture, Building, and Planning that investigates the collaborative governance of urban biodiversity and ecosystems. Finally, the Centre is leading the production of a report documenting the City of Melbourne’s urban ecology activities over the last decade and a publication that analyses City of Melbourne’s transition to an ‘urban ecology’ city.
Outputs
Bush, J., & Dickey, A. (2022). Sustaining collaborative ecosystem governance, factsheet. Melbourne, Australia: University of Melbourne.
Dickey, A., & Bush J. (2021). Sustaining collaborative governance. Literature Review and case studies. Melbourne, Australia: University of Melbourne.
Morgain, R. A., Bekessy, S., Bush, J., et al. (2021). Nature as a Climate Solution: Country, culture and nature-based solutions for mitigating climate change. Melbourne, Australia: University of Melbourne. http://conservationfutures.org.au/publications.
Dickey, A., Oke, C., Bush, J., & Hahs, A. (2021). Nature in and across cities: metropolitan approaches for biodiversity conservation, Metropolitan comparative studies.
Frantzeskaki, N., Oke, C., Bush, J., Bekessy, S., Fitzsimons, J., Garrard, G. E., Grenfell, M., & Hartigan, M. (2021). Putting Nature First: Driving Actions for Nature in Cities, The Nature of Cities.
Bush, J., Oke, C., Garrard, G., Frantzeskaki, N., Bekessy, S. A., & Fitzsimons, J. A. (2021). How our cities should respond to the biodiversity extinction crisis, Pursuit.
Oke, C., Bekessy, S. A., Frantzeskaki, N., Bush, J., et al. (2021). Cities should respond to the biodiversity extinction crisis, NPJ Urban Sustainability, 1(1), 1-4.
Project team
Cathy Oke, Melbourne Enterprise Senior Fellow in Informed Cities
Judy Bush, Lecturer in Urban Planning
Ariana Dickey, Research Fellow in Urban Sustainability
