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Paper short abstract

“Shallow” Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) undermine urban resiliency and frame nature as something to be engineered for humans. Drawing on Deep Ecology, this paper reimagines an ecocentric, “deep” NbS to challenge and transform both NbS and Deep Ecology, suggesting new pathways for urban resilience.

Paper long abstract

That Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have gained prominence in urban resilience and climate adaptation agendas is not surprising given their utility in mitigating floods, reducing heat stress, and enhancing wellbeing. Although NbS may provide local relief to climate change symptoms, this paper argues that “shallow” forms of NbS undermine durable resiliency and sustainability through perpetuating the instrumental, technologizing paradigms responsible for the very symptoms they aim to relieve.

Drawing on Deep Ecology, the paper explores what it would mean to reimagine NbS through an ecocentric ethic grounded in a fundamental reorientation of our relationship to the more-than-human world, technology, and urban life. Deep Ecology argues for an expanded conception of selfhood that includes ecosystems and, ultimately, all life. From this perspective, “Deep NbS” would not merely deliver ecosystem services but cultivate ecological self-realization and strengthen affective connections between urban residents and the more-than-human world. Additionally, Deep Ecology’s emphasis on decentralization and living close to nature challenges dominant assumptions about the sustainability of urbanity.

The goal of “Deep NbS”, however is not to argue for a return to idealized “pre-modern” societies, but a reimagining of urban resilience beyond service provision or adaptive capacity for human populations alone. This reimagining of NbS may also foster an understanding of our cities as living systems warranting ethical consideration. At the same time, engagement with urban spaces and modern technology challenges Deep Ecology, requiring transformation if it should have a role to play in creating more sustainable futures for humans and nonhumans alike.