Cities around the world are striving to become more climate resilient by integrating nature-based solutions (NBS) and green infrastructure (GI) into their urban planning. This opens up a range of exciting opportunities, but a significant challenge remains: How can cities grow sustainably in harmony with nature? Many cities face constraints when designing and allocating green spaces and there is a lack of knowledge about the critical thresholds needed for effective GI and NBS. This gap is especially evident in the insufficient consideration of both plant and animal life, which limits cities’ ability to manage wildlife sustainably.

The exploratory research project CitiesForALL aims to enhance our understanding of urban wildlife ecology and its relationship with landscape drivers, climate factors, tree ecology, and socioeconomic influences. There are still gaps in current NBS and GI practices in cities. To close these gaps, the need for inter- and transdisciplinary, multi-city studies on urban wildlife and the interaction between various species such as trees, insects, birds, and mammals in urban areas will be identified and discussed. The project addresses the need for a solid understanding of how urban greening efforts and socioeconomic factors in the context of climate change interact and impact wildlife diversity in cities worldwide.

CitiesForALL focuses on creating synergies across diverse societal challenges by investigating the key factors that will shape wildlife in urban settings in the future. The project will establish consistent wildlife monitoring in two key cities – Freiburg and Karlsruhe – while also laying the groundwork for future expansion into cities in developed (Europe) and developing (Asia) regions. During the project period, research collaborators from Stuttgart and Berlin (Germany) as well as Chicago (USA), among others, will also contribute to the understanding of future research priorities on wildlife-inclusive urban development.

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