Architect Adrian McGregor talks in his book Biourbanism, cities as nature about how we should understand and design cities to make them more humane, liveable and conscious.
We often think of the city as a hostile place where life is becoming increasingly complicated. The design and cost of housing, the high levels of pollution (including noise) and the feeling of non-community are just a few aspects that determine how many people feel in the big city. Most of the time, this feeling is linked to a certain romanticisation of the countryside and the rural environment. We dream of moving there, longing for a space of rest, a slower, more conscious pace of life. However, architects such as Adrian McGregor propose rethinking cities under the term biocity to refer to resilient and sustainable cities. What does this new model of urbanism consist of?
McGregor talks about biocities in his book Biourbanism, cities as nature. He argues that they can be a bulwark of resilience and one of the solutions to climate change. To begin with, the author understands cities as ‘spectacular living and dynamic systems that evolve with us’, reclassifying them as a form of ‘new nature’.
Biourbanism: a model connected by ten systems
Based on landscape architecture, urban design and ecological sciences, biourbanism is a model of urban planning and urban design that increases prosperity. It proposes a paradigm shift composed of ten systems mutually managed through data and design to better meet the needs of citizens: economy, energy, infrastructure, mobility, technology, water, waste, landscape, food and citizenship.
McGregor’s model of biourbanism proposes ten interconnected systems. Editorial credit: Pexels.
These ten interconnected systems determine the health, prosperity and resilience of the city. The ultimate goal is to take a holistic view of the city.
The biourbanism model consists of five biological (i.e. life-supporting) and five urban (non-living) systems. Optimal urban resilience is achieved when one system does not have a negative bias on another and when the interrelationships of these systems are managed in an intentional and mutually beneficial way.
It is also important to note that this new model of city design considers cities as living anthropomes or biomes modified by Homo Sapiens. It defines them as living ecological constructions and vibrant habitats that are linked to wild biomes, to the new ecosystems of the surrounding landscapes and to those of the planet.
Adrian McGregor, an architect committed to the planet
McGregor is a landscape architect, biourbanist and founder of McGregor Coxall, an Australian and UK-based design firm dedicated to helping cities achieve resilient prosperity.
He has been voted one of Sydney’s 100 most creative people and winner of the Australian Prime Minister’s Urban Design Award. He has designed new cities, lectured and delivered award-winning projects around the world.
