Urban Nature Enriching Belonging, Wellbeing and Bioculture

This book showcases the diversity of ways in which urban residents from varying cultural contexts view, interact, engage with and give meaning to urban nature, aiming to counterbalance the dominance of Western depictions and values of urban nature and design. Urban nature has up to now largely been defined, planned and managed in a way that is heavily dominated by Western understandings, values and appreciations, which has spread through colonialism and globalisation. As cities increasingly represent a diversity of cultures, and urban nature is being increasingly recognised as contributing to residents' wellbeing, belonging and overall quality of life, it is important to consider the numerous ways in which urban nature is understood and appreciated. This collection of case studies includes examples from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and reflects on the multi-dimensional aspects of engagements with urban nature through a biocultural diversity lens. The chapters cover several themes such as how engagements with nature contribute to a sense of wellbeing and belonging; the implications that diversity has on the provision, design and management of urban environments; and the threats inhibiting residents’ abilities to engage meaningfully with nature. The book challenges the dominant discourse, Western ideological understandings and meta-narratives of modernisation and unilineal urban transitions. A timely addition to the literature, Urban Nature: Enriching Belonging, Wellbeing and Bioculture offers an alternative to Western ideological understandings of nature and values and will be of great interest to those working in human and environmental urban ecology. It will also be key reading for students in the relevant fields of anthropology, development studies, geography, social ecology and urban studies.

1. Urban Nature and Biocultural RealitiesCharlie Shackleton and Michelle Cocks 2. The Veil, the Clearing and the Flow: New Commons of Japanese Traditional Gardens in Kanazawa CityJuan Pastor-Ivars 3. Urban Biocultural Identity of Yorubas: Intersection of Philosophy and Nature for Wellbeing at Osun Sacred Grove UNESCO Site, Osogbo, NigeriaJoseph Adeniran Adedeji 4. Troubled Paradise: The Persian Garden in Post-Islamic Revolution Iran Viveca Mellegård 5. Designed and Engaged Urban Nature: Biocultural Values in Helsinki, Finland Kati Vierikko and Mia Jaatsi 6. Decolonisation of Nature in Towns and Cities of South Africa: Incorporation of Biocultural ValuesMichelle Cocks, Charlie M. Shackleton, Lindsey Walsh, Duncan Haynes, Amanda Manyani and Dennis Radebe 7. Nature on the Border: The Reconfiguration of Biocultural Experiences by Migrant Women on the Southern Border of MexicoAna Lucía Lagunes Gasca and Juliana Merçon 8. Translating Spiritual Experience into Environmental Stewardship at Jamaica Bay, New York City Zachary Garcia, Sonya Sachdeva, Lindsay K. Campbell & Erika Svendsen 9. Biocultural Diversity at Rio de Janeiro’s Urban Beaches: Wellbeing, Belonging and ConflictGuilherme Cruz de Mendonça 10. Intercultural Learning in Contested Space: The Biocultural Realities of Global Cities through the Lens of Vancouver, Canada Lorien Nesbitt, Cecil Konijnendijk, Nathanael Lauster and Hyeone Park 11. Urban Realities of Engaging with Nature in Europe: Increasing Diversity and Consequences for Wellbeing and Social CohesionBirgit Elands, Bianca Ambrose-Oji, Annegret Haase and Karin Peters 12. Living in Kinship within Urban Landscapes through Equitable, Multicultural, Collaborative Stewardship in New York CityHeather McMillen, Lindsay K. Campbell, Erika Svendsen, Christian P. Giardina, Kekuhi Kealiikanakaoleohaililani and Kainana S. Francisco 13. Situating Biocultural Relations in City and Townscapes: Conclusion and RecommendationsMichelle Cocks and Charlie Shackleton

Michelle L. Cocks is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Rhodes University, South Africa. Charlie M. Shackleton is Professor and DST/NRF Research Chair of Interdisciplinary Science in Land & Natural Resource Use for Sustainable Livelihoods in the Department of Environmental Science at Rhodes University, South Africa.