BCNUEJ’s codirector James Connolly participated in this month’s Global Roundtable, a monthly virtual debate at Nature of Cities in which a dozen or so city experts respond to a specific question. This month’s question was:
To whom does a city’s nature belong? Is it a common pool resource, or a public good? And who decides?
James summed up, “If you focus on ecological flows, then nature in the city is a public good; if you focus on economic flows, then urban natural areas are a common pool resource. Such either/or positions will not take us where we want to go. A more promising trend is toward the formation of social-ecological coalitions, perhaps focused on human health and civic engagement.”
To read James’ and other participants’ responses in full, head over to the roundtable at Nature of Cities.
