Study #27

Figure: The interdisciplinary and generational participants of The Parliament of Species. Source: Courtesy of Morten Munch‐Olsen.

Nature-based solutions insights - Cities for humans… and beyond

In 2022, researcher Cecilie Sachs Olsen from Oslo Metropolitan University explored a bold question: What if cities were designed not just for humans, but for other species too? The study, published in Urban Planning, examined an arts-based participatory experiment that reimagined placemaking by including animals, plants, and ecological systems as part of the “community.”

Instead of treating nature as a background to urban life, the project staged a performative event where participants engaged with their surroundings in creative ways: listening, observing, and responding to non-human inhabitants. The research shows that arts-based methods can open new forms of participation in city planning and challenge the traditional human-centered view of urban development.

When planners recognize the roles of animals, plants, and ecosystems, placemaking becomes more innovative, inclusive, and environmentally aware.

Sachs Olsen, C. (2022). Co-creation beyond humans: The arts of multispecies placemaking. Urban Planning, 7(3), 315–325.
https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v7i3.5288