The Nature of Cities

We are living in a time of growing awareness of “the nature of cities.” Since I started blogging in 2010, that awareness has sprouted all over, so I’m very much a part of the Zeitgeist.

What’s meant by the pun in “the nature of cities” is, of course, the nature in cities. The wild has always coexisted with the city, but it has been suppressed, even repressed. Indeed, the city has long stood opposed to the wild, which is where the barbarians are. But from the cracks in the sidewalk sprouting dandelions to the cracks in the cornice sporting baby kestrels, the city is habitat for many other species besides our own.A new collaborative blog on the topic has just been launched, The Nature of Cities. I welcome them to the awareness. The best defense — and nurturing, protecting, and expanding nature in the city is very much a fight — is a good offense.These pictures were taken today as I walked under grey skies from Cobble Hill to Park Slope.