Biocities: When Cities Follow the Rules of Nature

Since the first Industrial Revolution in the mid-19th century, a new city-building model has emerged in Europe every 50 years in response to the social, cultural and technological challenges of each period. These paradigm shifts have come about following major crises like the current one, in which we are battling the climate crisis and fighting for life at the same time.

At present, the challenge is no longer to grow our cities outward, but to promote urban regeneration by working across disciplines. We should look to nature to power this new method of developing urban settlements. What we call Circular Bioscience promotes a new way of approaching the economic and social development of global territories, through the implementation of solutions rooted in nature and the advancement of the circular economy. By definition, it is an interdisciplinary effort that brings together the fields of ecology, biology, agriculture, urban planning, architecture, landscape, design, engineering, economics, governance, medicine, and the social sciences, among many others.

The purpose of this book is to exhibit plans and projects from cities around the world that aim at developing this new way of regenerating and developing cities following the rules of nature. This new way of building biocities will be essential in bringing about the zero-emissions city defined by the EU for Horizon 2050.