Collection no. 010

Collection no. 010: Urban Bioinfrastructures

Fall 2023

As cities have to bear up against storms, high tides, and other extreme weather events, urban design increasingly turns to non-human life-forms and processes for solutions. So-called ‘green’ or ‘blue’ infrastructures are supposed to lessen adverse effects and produce more sustainable urban natures. Trees or mangroves are supposed to reduce heat islands; bushes and other forms of vegetation aim at preventing landslides; and restoring river flows and water ecosystems are means to reduce flood risks. Such measures have come alongside an increased scholarly interest in other-than-human, vital materialist, or multispecies perspectives on social life, suggesting disciplinary crossovers that push theoretical boundaries and animate practical endeavours. While ‘nature-based solutions’ have become a mantra for policymakers and scholars involved in urban planning, many of the selected measures or projects address only partially the implications of emerging urban ecosystems. It often appears that the use of nature in the interest of increasing urban resilience are mere socioecological fixes, extracting ‘ecosystem services’ from both environments and communities. And yet, the incorporation of bioscientific approaches in urban design seems to question the fundamental premise of modern urban planning – human control of nature. Or does it? Our main question for this Roadsides collection is: does the emerging trend of developing bioinfrastructures change understandings of urban life and how so? Does their implementation lead people to reconsider how we build and inhabit cities? And what role do non-humans play in this transformation?

Edited by Raúl Acosta and Lukas Ley