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In an era marked by existential threats like climate change and biodiversity loss, combined with ongoing urban population growth, many cities around the world are reimagining their relationship with nature as these intersecting issues affect the very basis of our liveability.
The concept of ‘’rewilding’’ - a movement that began over a decade ago - is gaining traction as a transformative approach to bring back natural ecosystems in the urban landscape while at the same time looking forward to a brighter future for both people and nature. Rewilding requires us to look back - well beyond the blip in time that is post-colonial Australia - to reimagine past landscapes.
But what does rewilding truly mean in the context of our bustling cities, and how can it inspire a future where nature and humanity thrive together?
Globally we have lost a terrifying ~70% of our vertebrates since 1970 and Australia has the
unenviable title of having the highest mammal extinction rate in the world. That’s even before the most significant effects of climate change start to be felt, putting severe pressure on what’s left of nature. Currently, we are experiencing rates of extinctions 100-1000 times higher than the background rate of naturally occurring extinctions. This is why the “nature positive” movement is trying to stop nature loss and begin the process towards restoration of nature by 2030.
We all see landscapes through a cultural lens. Our sensory response to landscapes differs across cultures, but also as individuals. However we all share highlights or similarities in what we value in a landscape and in what we should incorporate into the urban design of our cities. We like green, we like blue, we like order and patterns that reflect our shared urban culture.
The Global Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) acknowledges the role cities and local authorities play in achieving global biodiversity goals. Through Target 12, the CBD encourages local and subnational governments to integrate biodiversity considerations into their policies and planning.
‘’Significantly increase the area and quality and connectivity of, access to, and benefits from green and blue spaces in urban and densely populated areas sustainably, by mainstreaming the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and ensure biodiversity-inclusive urban planning, enhancing native biodiversity, ecological connectivity and integrity, and improving human health and well-being and connection to nature and contributing to inclusive and sustainable urbanisation and the provision of ecosystem functions and services.’
In essence Target 12 requires city planners to: Enhance Green and Blue Spaces, Integrate Biodiversity into Urban Planning, Improve Urban Resilience through nature-based solutions and ensure access and equity to these natural spaces.
Rewilding can conjure images of vast, untouched wilderness and the return of apex predators. However, rewilding in urban environments is less about returning cities to some kind of ‘’pristine’’ state than it is about creating conditions that allow natural elements and wildlife to reintegrate and flourish alongside people. In return, people also flourish by benefitting from the services that nature provides: think clean water, clean air, shade, food, visual, cultural and spiritual amenity and the uniqueness of place from which city dwellers draw their identity and sense of shared belonging.
In this way, urban rewilding differs from its broader landscape counterpart - though cities would do well to think about how they interact with the broader landscape around them and their role in reconnecting biodiversity at catchment or biome-scale. It acknowledges that people must remain central to the equation but allows us to think of a less transactional way humans view our place in the city. Urban rewilding opens our eyes to the diversity of all forms of life within it.
As I mentioned in my 2015 TEDx Melbourne talk, cities represent collective dreams—built on the aspirations of those who call them home. Any effort to reclaim natural spaces must embrace this shared history while looking toward a greener, more harmonious future.
Several cities have taken bold steps to bring nature back into their urban cores, offering inspiration for what’s possible when human ingenuity meets ecological ambition.
In Melbourne, the proposed Yarra Pool intervention at Enterprize Park stands as an example of reimagining urban spaces for both ecological and community benefit. The proposed pool sits within a series of floating wetlands that aim to not only beautify the cityscape but also filter pollutants from the water. This creates a healthier ecosystem that supports local wildlife and offers a space for people to reconnect with nature, particularly the water environment which has taken so much of a beating.
The current pilot project for floating wetlands along the Yarra and the designed concepts for Enterprize Park as part of the Greenline project draw in the design principles co-developed with the community for the pool, with the large scale return and restoration of nature along the river bank and the river itself.
The slow but steady rise of green rooftops and sky gardens across global cities like Singapore and New York exemplifies how even the most developed urban environments can become homes for biodiversity. These elevated oases help combat urban heat, provide habitat for birds and insects, and improve air quality, all while contributing to residents’ well-being. In Melbourne we have our own Skygarden proving the feasibility of an urban farming concept and a number of rooftop spaces that are so embedded within our landscape that we’ve long forgotten they are green roofs such as the NGV garden which partially sits atop the Arts Centre carpark.
Efforts like Melbourne’s oyster reef restoration in Port Philip Bay and across other Australian cities from Perth around to Noosa, led by The Nature Conservancy, illustrate the multifaceted benefits of urban rewilding and signal the broader connection of our cities with nature. By restoring long lost native oyster populations, these projects bolster marine biodiversity, strengthen coastal defences against erosion, and purify water systems—all crucial as cities confront the impacts of climate change and seek to repair past extractive practices that have left the environment suffering. They offer a nature-based solution that provides a multitude of benefits and lays the foundation for other habitats such as seagrass, coastal salt marsh and kelp to re-establish.
The concept of blue carbon is gaining traction worldwide as an important long-term natural-climate solution. Healthy coastal ecosystems like mangroves provide an incredible array of services to both people and nature by protecting our cities and critical infrastructure from storm surge events and flooding.
They also act as nursery for fish and crabs, feeding areas for shorebirds, improving water quality and protecting communities. They can also absorb and store carbon at concentrations up to four times higher than terrestrial forests and retain the carbon in sediment for millennia.
In Adelaide, one of Australia’s first blue carbon projects, located near Webb Beach which adjoins the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary National Park - Winaityinaityi Pangkara, is the second blue carbon project in Australia to be registered with the Clean Energy Regulator. The project aims to restore natural tidal flows into a stranded coastal wetland to enhance the ecological health and extent of local ecosystems. The area also provides critically important habitat for many Australian and migratory shorebirds: around 15,000 shorebirds gather here for up to six months each year, before migrating to breeding grounds in China, Siberia, and East Asia.
Rewilding efforts thrive on collaboration. In the urban context, this means partnerships that cross sectors and disciplines: Traditional owners as holders of traditional ecological knowledge are crucial partners. Their insights and practices provide local governments, architects, engineers, ecologists, policy makers and residents with the guide rails to bring nature into the city fabric. This requires working hand in hand and adequate funding from state and federal governments.
Take, for instance, the 10 steps outlined in Regen Melbourne’s vision for a swimmable Birrarung (Yarra River). The dream of seeing people swim in the heart of Melbourne may once have seemed far-fetched. Yet, with sustained community engagement, supporting policy initiatives and on ground projects, such dreams begin to shift from idealism to reality as organisations and people see where they can contribute. Importantly, setting end points like being able to ‘wild swim’ provide a goal to reach and a indication of when enough has been done and efforts (beyond maintenance) can be directed towards other initiatives. Step 7 - Return to nature – highlights that ‘’The river is us’’ and that we need to ‘’Prioritise our need to protect biodiversity and the role our natural systems have to play in healing our waterways.’’
Imagine walking down a city street bordered by green walls and pollinator-friendly plants.
While cities like Melbourne have made significant strides, there are always areas where we can push the boundaries further. One promising avenue worth revisiting is the Greening our Laneways program. Transforming underutilized urban corridors into green thoroughfares could extend habitats for pollinators, cool the city, and create inviting spaces for residents. Learnings from the pilot program should be re-assessed and the realisation that these are not just set and forget projects and that deeper outcomes beyond amenity values are required.
Projects like the joint City of Melbourne, Yarra Trams and Victorian Government Green Track trial on Southbank Boulevarde—where the tramlines were planted with grass and native flora—demonstrate how we can rethink everyday infrastructure for biodiversity purposes, but also show us that maintenance and commitment is required beyond construction.
Yarra Trams urban arbour project has introduced a small but meaningful re-wilding effort transforming tram stops across the city to incorporate urban greening which remind us that rewilding is not about sweeping changes but incremental steps that add up to a greater whole.
To truly grasp the potential of urban rewilding, we need to tap into our collective imagination. In my TEDx talk, I invited the audience to close their eyes and envision their version of a utopian city—alive with movement, filled with vibrant green spaces, and resonant with the sounds of nature and human interaction.
What if cities were designed not just as places of human habitation but as thriving ecosystems? What if rooftops teemed with native plants, and laneways buzzed with bees and birds? What if our urban rivers and waterways were so clean and abundant with life that people could swim in them without a second thought?
These visions may sound aspirational, but they remind us of what’s at stake. Rewilding our cities isn’t just about beautification; it’s about resilience. It’s about preparing for the future, where climate change poses an ever-growing challenge, and where the mental and physical health of urban dwellers will increasingly depend on access to nature.
The world’s great cities are where dreams and reality meet and are reflections of our collective dreams—places where the built and natural environments can coexist. While rewilding may not mean returning entirely to nature, it does mean building a future where cities sustain life in all its forms. In this vision, the integration of natural spaces is as essential as roads, schools, or hospitals.
It is it also abut guaranteeing that future generations can enjoy the same connection with nature as we, and previous generations before us, have We must remember that urban rewilding isn’t a one-time effort; it’s an ongoing journey of innovation and stewardship. It invites us to think not just of what cities are, but of what they could be—spaces where humans and nature collaborate in creating a vibrant, sustainable future while recognising our past.
As the great Australian writer David Malouf puts it “a land can bear any number of cultures laid one above the other or set side by side. It can be inscribed and written on many times. One of those forms is the shaping of landscape. In any place where humans have made their homes, the landscape will be a made one. Landscape making is in our bones”.
Here’s how we protect Australia’s rivers – according to an Indigenous Scholar, a (PhD Farmer) and an iconic environmental lawyer...
Thoughts and insights we uncovered at our August TED Circle.
