The authors see nature as an integral part of the urban organism and as such as important to the quality of life in the city. Nature-inclusive design is a pioneer practice that has only recently become part of urban planning. From different angles, this publication addresses the theory of ecology and biodiversity, city-bound species, urban habitats and the maintenance of urban nature, on the basis of inspirational and practical examples.
When Minos, King of Crete, fell out with his brothers over the legitimacy of his reign, he asked the sea god Poseidon for help. Poseidon sent him a white bull as a sign of support for Minos’ claim, on the condition that the bull would be sacrificed. Minos broke this promise and Poseidon retaliated by making Minos’ wife Pasiphaë fall in love with the bull. This story from Greek mythology—in which the bull represents ‘nature’, Pasiphaë ‘humankind’ or ‘culture’ and the architect Daedalus the intermediary between the two—can be interpreted as a metaphor for ‘making urban nature’. Needless to say, though, the authors do not have the disastrous consequences of Daedalus’ mediation in mind.
We are so fond of being out in Nature because it has no opinion of us. (Friedrich Nietzsche)
One of the features of the urban ecosystem is the constant influx of a relatively large number of exotic species, settling in places they do not originally come from. Oftentimes, the city and the people who live there are the ones responsible for this immigration flow.
Do not wantonly fell trees . Do not wantonly pick herbs or flowers. Do not throw poisonous substances into lakes, rivers and seas. Do not dig holes in the ground and thereby destroy the earth. Do not throw dirty things in wells. Do not seal off pools and wells. Do not defecate or urinate on living plants that people will eat or in water that people will drink. Do not disturb birds and [other] animals. (from The Daoist One Hundred and Eighty Precepts (Baibashijie) Tianshidao, China, from 142 Ad onwards)
