IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i9p5033-d546827.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Biophilic Agents in Building a Green Resilient City; the Case of Birmingham, UK

Author

Listed:
  • Linda Novosadová

    (Land Use Planning Group, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, P.O. Box 47, 6700AA Wageningen, The Netherlands)

  • Wim van der Knaap

    (Land Use Planning Group, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, P.O. Box 47, 6700AA Wageningen, The Netherlands)

Abstract

The present research offers an exploration into the biophilic approach and the role of its agents in urban planning in questions of building a green, resilient urban environment. Biophilia, the innate need of humans to connect with nature, coined by Edgar O. Wilson in 1984, is a concept that has been used in urban governance through institutions, agents’ behaviours, activities and systems to make the environment nature-inclusive. Therefore, it leads to green, resilient environments and to making cities more sustainable. Due to an increasing population, space within and around cities keeps on being urbanised, replacing natural land cover with concrete surfaces. These changes to land use influence and stress the environment, its components, and consequently impact the overall resilience of the space. To understand the interactions and address the adverse impacts these changes might have, it is necessary to identify and define the environment’s components: the institutions, systems, and agents. This paper exemplifies the biophilic approach through a case study in the city of Birmingham, United Kingdom and its biophilic agents. Using the categorisation of agents, the data obtained through in-situ interviews with local professionals provided details on the agent fabric and their dynamics with the other two environments’ components within the climate resilience framework. The qualitative analysis demonstrates the ways biophilic agents act upon and interact within the environment in the realm of urban planning and influence building a climate-resilient city. Their activities range from small-scale community projects for improving their neighbourhood to public administration programs focusing on regenerating and regreening the city. From individuals advocating for and educating on biophilic approach, to private organisations challenging the business-as-usual regulations, it appeared that in Birmingham the biophilic approach has found its representatives in every agent category. Overall, the activities they perform in the environment define their role in building resilience. Nonetheless, the role of biophilic agents appears to be one of the major challengers to the urban design’s status quo and the business-as-usual of urban governance. Researching the environment, focused on agents and their behaviour and activities based on nature as inspiration in addressing climate change on a city level, is an opposite approach to searching and addressing the negative impacts of human activity on the environment. This focus can provide visibility of the local human activities that enhance resilience, while these are becoming a valuable input to city governance and planning, with the potential of scaling it up to other cities and on to regional, national, and global levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Linda Novosadová & Wim van der Knaap, 2021. "The Role of Biophilic Agents in Building a Green Resilient City; the Case of Birmingham, UK," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:9:p:5033-:d:546827
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/9/5033/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/9/5033/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark Scott & Mick Lennon & Dagmar Haase & Aleksandra Kazmierczak & Gerry Clabby & Tim Beatley, 2016. "Nature-based solutions for the contemporary city/Re-naturing the city/Reflections on urban landscapes, ecosystems services and nature-based solutions in cities/Multifunctional green infrastructure and," Planning Theory & Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 267-300, April.
    2. Wendy Steele & Kristian Ruming, 2012. "Flexibility versus Certainty: Unsettling the Land-use Planning Shibboleth in Australia," Planning Practice & Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(2), pages 155-176.
    3. Zsuzsanna Tomor & Albert Meijer & Ank Michels & Stan Geertman, 2019. "Smart Governance For Sustainable Cities: Findings from a Systematic Literature Review," Journal of Urban Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(4), pages 3-27, October.
    4. Timothy Beatley & Peter Newman, 2013. "Biophilic Cities Are Sustainable, Resilient Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(8), pages 1-18, August.
    5. Jan Corfee-Morlot & Lamia Kamal-Chaoui & Michael G. Donovan & Ian Cochran & Alexis Robert & Pierre-Jonathan Teasdale, 2009. "Cities, Climate Change and Multilevel Governance," OECD Environment Working Papers 14, OECD Publishing.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Derk Jan Stobbelaar & Wim van der Knaap & Joop Spijker, 2022. "Transformation towards Green Cities: Key Conditions to Accelerate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-16, May.
    2. Balali, Amirhossein & Yunusa-Kaltungo, Akilu, 2025. "Selection of passive energy consumption optimisation strategies for buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    3. Abdillah Abdillah & Ida Widianingsih & Rd Ahmad Buchari & Heru Nurasa, 2025. "Resilience-based Governance: A Public Administration Perspective and Resilience Agenda," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 695-715, June.
    4. Alessio Russo & Maria Beatrice Andreucci, 2023. "Raising Healthy Children: Promoting the Multiple Benefits of Green Open Spaces through Biophilic Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-21, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Angela Heymans & Jessica Breadsell & Gregory M. Morrison & Joshua J. Byrne & Christine Eon, 2019. "Ecological Urban Planning and Design: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-20, July.
    2. Marta Chàfer & Anna Laura Pisello & Cristina Piselli & Luisa F. Cabeza, 2020. "Greenery System for Cooling Down Outdoor Spaces: Results of an Experimental Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-12, July.
    3. Antonio Ledda & Elisabetta Anna Di Cesare & Giovanni Satta & Gianluca Cocco & Giovanna Calia & Filippo Arras & Annalisa Congiu & Emanuela Manca & Andrea De Montis, 2020. "Adaptation to Climate Change and Regional Planning: A Scrutiny of Sectoral Instruments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-15, May.
    4. Alessio Russo & Giuseppe T. Cirella, 2019. "Edible urbanism 5.0," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-9, December.
    5. Aviel Verbruggen, 2011. "A Turbo Drive for the Global Reduction of Energy-Related CO 2 Emissions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-17, April.
    6. Carter, Virginia & Derudder, Ben & Henríquez, Cristián, 2021. "Assessing local governments’ perception of the potential implementation of biophilic urbanism in Chile: A latent class approach," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    7. Winfried Osthorst, 2020. "Tensions in Urban Transitions. Conceptualizing Conflicts in Local Climate Policy Arrangements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-17, December.
    8. Antonio Ledda & Marta Kubacka & Giovanna Calia & Sylwia Bródka & Vittorio Serra & Andrea De Montis, 2023. "Italy vs. Poland: A Comparative Analysis of Regional Planning System Attitudes toward Adaptation to Climate Changes and Green Infrastructures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, January.
    9. Thomas Panagopoulos & Stilianos Tampakis & Paraskevi Karanikola & Aikaterini Karipidou-Kanari & Apostolos Kantartzis, 2018. "The Usage and Perception of Pedestrian and Cycling Streets on Residents’ Well-being in Kalamaria, Greece," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-17, August.
    10. Ming Lu & Zhuolin Tan & Chao Yuan & Yu Dong & Wei Dong, 2023. "Resilience Measurements and Dynamics of Resource-Based Cities in Heilongjiang Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-22, January.
    11. Azevedo, Isabel & Delarue, Erik & Meeus, Leonardo, 2013. "Mobilizing cities towards a low-carbon future: Tambourines, carrots and sticks," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 894-900.
    12. Eirini Triantafyllidou & Anastasia Zabaniotou, 2022. "From Theory to Praxis: ‘Go Sustainable Living’ Survey for Exploring Individuals Consciousness Level of Decision-Making and Action-Taking in Daily Life Towards a Green Citizenship," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 113-139, March.
    13. Razieh Zandieh & Javier Martinez & Johannes Flacke, 2019. "Older Adults’ Outdoor Walking and Inequalities in Neighbourhood Green Spaces Characteristics," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-18, November.
    14. Jennifer S. Bansard & Philipp H. Pattberg & Oscar Widerberg, 2017. "Cities to the rescue? Assessing the performance of transnational municipal networks in global climate governance," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 229-246, April.
    15. Abdulaziz Aldegheishem, 2024. "Assessing progress towards smart governance in Saudi Arabia," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-9, December.
    16. Dong, Yuxiang & Liu, Song & Pei, Xinsheng & Wang, Ying, 2025. "Spatially explicit multi-objective optimization tool for green infrastructure planning based on InVEST and NSGA-II towards multifunctionality," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    17. David Tremblay & Sabine Gowsy & Olivier Riffon & Jean-François Boucher & Samuel Dubé & Claude Villeneuve, 2021. "A Systemic Approach for Sustainability Implementation Planning at the Local Level by SDG Target Prioritization: The Case of Quebec City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-20, February.
    18. Laura Silvia Valente Macedo & Pedro Roberto Jacobi, 2019. "Subnational politics of the urban age: evidence from Brazil on integrating global climate goals in the municipal agenda," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-15, December.
    19. Chien, FengSheng & Paramaiah, Ch & joseph, Robinson & Pham, Hong Chuong & Phan, Thi Thu Hien & Ngo, Thanh Quang, 2023. "The impact of eco-innovation, trade openness, financial development, green energy and government governance on sustainable development in ASEAN countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 259-268.
    20. Parastoo Parivar & David Quanrud & Ahad Sotoudeh & Mahdieh Abolhasani, 2021. "Evaluation of urban ecological sustainability in arid lands (case study: Yazd-Iran)," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 2797-2826, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:9:p:5033-:d:546827. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.