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Short abstract

In this contribution we explore threats to and conservation of the endangered European common hamster in Vienna to develop a speculative story about multispecies cohabitation in the city. We ask: how may urban futures be reimagined if non-human species are considered as full urban residents?

Long abstract

As an endangered synanthropic animal species, the European common hamster has followed the human trend towards urbanization. Significant parts of its population now live in cities, where it faces both particular urban dangers and various forms of protection. In Vienna, where a significant part of the species’ Central European population has found a home, city officials and activists have clashed over how to balance conservation obligations with ongoing urban development. While the city points to public information campaigns and resettlement efforts for hamsters found on building sites, activists point to endangerment from rodent control measures as well as the limitations of formal (legal) protection.

At the heart of this controversy appear to be different interpretations of the extent of protection owed to nonhumans in the urban environment. In part, these differences link to diverging imaginations of cities as primarily human or more-than-human spaces. What, then, may such different imaginations suggest about more inclusive urban futures in times of ecological crises?

Our contribution is rooted in a study of the aforementioned controversies around hamster conservation in Vienna. Yet we take our analytical insights as the starting point in formulating a speculative story on how urban futures may be reimagined if we take the fate of endangered species seriously and give them full consideration in thinking the city. How can different imaginations of urban development account for endangered species as urban residents?