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In conversation with Claudia Nieto
Claudia Nieto
Environmentalist and CSR Director of Intramundana
What is the city for you?
I think cities are places in which to connect, exchange; sources of cultural wealth. It is natural that, as social beings, we form groups to live together among equals to carry out our daily activities. For me, cities are meeting places.
I think cities fulfil the function they are supposed to fulfil. The problem is that we have created stagnant ecosystems, with vast areas of cement and concrete, instead of seeing them as ecosystems that flow with other ecosystems. The cities of the future have to be greener, fairer, more inclusive and designed on a more human scale.
Do you think we need to adopt an ecosystemic vision, i.e. a more holistic perspective, of urban space?
It’s a question of survival, since we are connected with nature through our DNA. So, if we want to prosper as a species, we have to prosper with the environment. We can’t prosper alone. We need to adopt a more biocentric vision and leave behind anthropocentrism.
When an ecosystem is more biodiverse, it is more resilient to future disturbances. If we can increase the biodiversity in our cities, they will become more adaptable to face the challenges to come.
It’s important we put nature at the centre of our political, economic and ethical decision-making, because we depend on it.
Cities are places in which to connect, exchange; sources of cultural wealth. It is natural that, as social beings, we form groups to live together among equals to carry out our daily activities.
Old City Park
Greenwood, IN USAWhat are the challenges and, by contrast, the opportunities that cities are facing today?
The biggest challenge cities are facing today is that of integrating and strengthening the nature that already exists in the cities themselves. We need to understand what ecosystemic dynamics we want to focus on and how we can maximise the ecosystemic benefits. For me, that’s the big challenge and the big opportunity.
What aspects do you think we should keep in mind when planning the cities of the future?
There are three aspects that are the most important: what ecosystem we are in, what dynamics we want to favour and how we can strengthen and integrate these into such a humanised setting as the city.
What questions do you ask yourself when approaching a new project?
The first question we should always ask ourselves is whether it is really necessary, especially in urbanistic terms, as there is already so much built space. So, do we have to urbanise a new plot of land or could we remodel an already existing space, allowing it to fulfil a better use? What is our goal with this new project? What need is it addressing? And lastly, how can we integrate nature into this space?
Do we need to reconnect with nature?
To preserve something we need to love and understand it. The first step to preserve something is understanding it. And to be able to understand something we need to reconnect. We need to create spaces where we can surround ourselves and connect with nature. We need to leave the concept of “protected islands” behind us. Nature has to be part of our day-to-day lives, not only found in parks or small protected green spaces, but rather something that penetrates all areas of life.
Campus exterior para Novartis North Park
Basilea Suiza
Circle square
Manchester, UKDo you think we need to adopt a new vision of the city and leave the anthropocentrist approach behind us?
I think that anthropocentrism was useful to us in the past, but it’s not the model we should be following now. For me, there are no clear divisions between the human and non-human world; there are just living beings that relate to one another in diverse ecosystems. We have to understand the interrelations created in and between ecosystems, and that we depend on each and every one of the species that surround us.
Could you explain how ecosystems work? Is it important to have diversity in terms of species of fauna and flora in urban ecosystems?
Ecosystems are defined as a set of organisms that relate with one another in a given physical space. Ecosystemic dynamics do not play out in stagnant bubbles, but rather are based on interrelations. Moreover, the more biodiversity there is, the more resilient an ecosystem is to future disturbances. So, why is it important that urban ecosystems are more biodiverse? Firstly, so that they are more adaptable to the challenges that are to come. We are sinking into an increasingly complex climatic context. We don’t know what’s to come, so the more resilient we are, the better. Secondly, because when we are in contact with nature we feel better, psychologically, physically and emotionally, which has already been demonstrated in countless studies. And lastly, because biodiversity generates ecosystemic benefits in urban dynamics that are very costly to achieve by other techniques or technologies, such as water cycle management, combating pollution or reducing the heat island effect.
How can we put nature back at the centre?
I think we can put nature back at the centre when we understand it, when we feel connected with it again and understand that we are interdependent beings, not isolated elements.
We have to understand the interrelations created in and between ecosystems, and that we depend on each and every one of the species that surround us.
Claudia Nieto
Environmentalist and CSR Director of Intramundana