IN-PERSON Lisbon Livable Cities. Section A
Abstract
We explore the theme of ‘liveable cities’ from the premise that the possibility of living in cities is being challenged globally by climate-biodiversity changes. Half of the global population lives in urban environments under threat by the combined effects of intensified weather events and diminishing and degrading natural habitats. These changes undermine the quality of life and sustainability of urban spaces and places. The scale and speed of change demand a paradigm shift in the way we think of the age-old culture-nature and built environment-nature relationships, and the tensions between static and evolving notions of such relationships, as cities search for ‘solutions’ and/or new ways of ‘being-cities’. We address these challenges to liveability of all urban life by linking two seemingly ‘unlikely twins’: a movement and a symbolic garden that combine natural and cultural heritage, biodiversity and sustainability in very different ways, in the context of London, Lisbon and Buenos Aires. First, we explore the recent movement of ‘national park cities’, intended to make cities greener, healthier and wilder. An essential aspect of national park cities is (re)connectedness of people, places and nature. We look at the case of London, which became the first National Park City in 2019, and explore the possibility of Lisbon and Buenos Aires becoming future National Park Cities. Second, we examine urban botanical gardens: how approaches to their purpose and status of institutional space, management and use of is changing, from imperial/colonial green ‘museums’ to dynamic, forward-looking actors engaged in post-imperial/colonial exchanges, biodiversity conservation, species reintroductions and socio-ecological awareness, relating with the city/citizens on climate-biodiversity resilience.
Olivia Bina: I am Senior Researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences University of Lisbon, and Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. Research focuses on transformative change for sustainable urban futures, on the critique of “green” growth and notions of scarcity, exploring the unlimited potential of human-nature connectedness to assist efforts towards progress beyond traditional notions of development. I also contribute to discussions about the future higher education and of its (ir)responsibility. Degrees in Political Sciences (MSc), Geography (MPhil & PhD) and Landscape Architecture (MA).
David SIMON is Professor of Development Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. He was also Director of Mistra Urban Futures, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2014–2019. A Rhodes Scholar and Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences, he specialises in cities, climate change and sustainability, and the relationships between theory, policy and practice. He is on the scoping team for the IPCC 7AR Special Report on Climate Change and Cities. His most recent books areTransdisciplinary Knowledge Co-production for Sustainable Cities: a Guide (Practical Action Publishing, 2021, co-authored) and Sustainable Human Settlements in the Global Urban Agenda (Agenda Publishing, 2023).
Veronica FABIO is Agricultural Engineer, Specialist in Landscape Architecture and PhD Candidate at the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism of the University of Buenos Aires (FADU-UBA). Professor in Landscape Planning and Design (FADU-UBA). Adjunct researcher at the Habitat and Energy Research Centre (CIHE)-(FADU-UBA). Until 2018 she chaired the Centro Argentino de Arquitectos Paisajistas, and is a member of the International Scientific Committee of Cultural Landscapes and of the Green Infrastructure Commission of the Professional Council of Agronomic Engineering (CPIA). Committed to biodiversity, environmental and social urgency, she leads the Breathe Breathe Project (BRP) in Argentina, since 2019, in conjunction with the University of Sheffield (UK).
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Thursday 10th July, 2025