Abstract
This century could rightly be called the urban century, with 2.4 billion more people expected in cities by 2050. This chapter presents the major choice facing planners: whether we want nature to play a central role in our urban future. We briefly present the central argument of this book that, paradoxically, cities need nature more than ever. Cities are the perfect forum for interaction, and it is this interaction that makes cities successful. Yet living in cities also carries with it an urban psychological penalty, as interacting with hundreds or thousands of people a day creates stress and mental illness. We believe that nature in cities can allow humanity to have all the benefits of a connected, urban life while alleviating the urban psychological penalty.
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McDonald, R., Beatley, T. (2021). The Urban Century. In: Biophilic Cities for an Urban Century. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51665-9_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51665-9_1
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