VIRTUAL: Livable Cities – New York
Abstract
Urban ‘rewilding’ is vital for the creation of liveable cities, given urban nature’s contribution to citizens’ wellbeing and cities’ climate-change resilience. Yet its successful integration into cities is dependent on both sensitive design and residents’ acceptance of a wilder form of nature. If this can be achieved future cities could nurture people while helping address the global biodiversity crisis. Private gardens, where residents’ behaviour significantly impacts their contribution to city-scale greenspace and biodiversity, represent a key challenge. The cross-disciplinary Wild Ways study is applying behavioural science methodologies to design research to investigate urban rewilding of private gardens in the UK capital London, where gardens’ habitat value is declining through residents removing greenery. The paper summarises findings from the first phase – a scoping review of global literature on understanding and influencing rewilding behaviour in urban residential gardens – before revealing preliminary findings from its current phase. This involves mixed-methods research, through interviews and a qualitative survey of London residents, to test the findings from the scoping review and identify new themes particular to London. All data is coded, using the ‘COM-B’ behaviour model, to identify the capability, opportunity and motivation factors forming barriers and facilitators to residents engaging in rewilding activity in their gardens. The results have implications for practice and policy aimed at influencing urban rewilding in cities worldwide. They will help designers, policymakers and campaigners employ behavioural science strategies to encourage urban rewilding among residents, providing the urban nature needed to mitigate the ecological crisis and create liveable cities.
Siân Moxon is a senior lecturer in sustainable design at London Metropolitan University’s School of Art, Architecture and Design. Siân’s practice-led design research explores urban biodiversity within the Cities group at the Centre for Urban and Built Ecologies (CUBE). Siân leads the ‘environment challenge’ for London Met Lab and the Art, Architecture and Design Education Declares working group. Siân is an architect, author and founder of the award-winning Rewild My Street urban-rewilding campaign.
Justin Webb is an Associate Professor of Public Health at London Metropolitan University. Justin has been working in the field of public health for over 15 years both as a practitioner and as a researcher. Justin’s former roles include working as the Director of the Centre for Workplace and Community Health at St Mary’s University and as a National Engagement Manager for Macmillan Cancer Support, leading on the charity’s healthy lifestyles programme. Justin’s research interest is in understanding and changing behaviour to improve health.