De natuur van onze steden

by Nadina Galle, Nico Groen (Translator), Astrid Meijn (Translator)

In de nabijheid van natuur zijn mensen gelukkiger, slapen ze beter en leven ze langer. Groen in de stad is bovendien een cruciale buffer tegen overstromingen, extreme hitte en bosbranden. de natuur is ons krachtigste wapen voor een betere en gezondere wereld. Helaas raken we in onze steeds dichter verstedelijkte gebieden het contact met de natuur steeds meer kwijt. Niet alleen is er minder groen om ons heen, we brengen ook maar liefst 90 procent van onze tijd binnenshuis door.

Topwetenschapper Nadina Galle toont ons in dit hoopvolle boek hoe natuur en stad hand in hand kunnen gaan. Ze spreekt met pioniers wereld wijd die aan de hand van AI, slimme sensoren of data-analyse het tij weten te keren en de natuur in stedelijke gebieden weer doen opleven. Hun inspirerende verhalen laten zien hoe we onze natuur - en daarmee onszelf! - kunnen helpen in deze kritieke tijden.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Nature, Urban Planning, Urbanism, Environment, Sustainability

398 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 18, 2024

About the author

Born in the Netherlands and raised in Canada, Nadina Galle developed a deep love for the outdoors and a lifelong commitment to conserving nature from an early age. Inspired as a teenager by trailblazing urbanists like Jane Jacobs and James Howard Kunstler, she began questioning the imbalance between nature and the sprawling suburbs she saw around her.

Reviews

[JoeyReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! An optimistic and inspiring take on today's climate, health, and mental health crises. Galle brings the reader on a journey worldwide, sharing the heroes behind tomorrow's solutions. "Environmental" books are often problem-oriented, with a few short chapters outlining high-level intangible solutions. This book was the complete opposite, leaving the reader feeling excited and energized by the power of nature and technology to our futures. A fresh take!

As a predominantly fiction reader, the book reads like a novel. It kept me wanting to turn the page to the next chapter. I recommend it to literally anyone looking for their next summer read.

[Sharon Huether · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Nature is our most critical infrastructure for tackling the climate crisis" according to Dr. Nadia Galle.

Technology can help nature get trough this.
Sensors that tell when a tree needs water.
Water gardens that protect cities from floods.
A.I. powered robots that prevent wildfires from reaching urban areas.
The native Americans knew where to locate a place to live and where is would be dangerous. They
burned brush around trees in forests..so wild fires could not start.
When the white settlers came they didn't want to adapt the Indian way and left the brush where is laid year after year. When a fire started it went wild.
Trees can be protected, as noted in the story of a Holocaust survivor (Suzy) There was Linden tree next to the home, where she lived, it's branches reaching up to the attic windows where she hid herself, reading books. The tree helped her hide for three years. That same trees is 150 years old today. It brought luck and peace.

I want to thank Mariner Books for sending me this book

[Selina Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible book! I need to buy it so I can reference and return to it regularly. Some thoughts - snails are the coolest! Tress do talk!! Loved hearing about phytoncides, attention restoration theory, stress reduction theory. Prescribing nature!!! The “new” drug is nature! The need for more nature (OF COURSE)!! Grateful this book opened my eyes and mind to AI supports for climate action and environmental conservation. Embrace and grow closer to the power of nature.

[Hillary Rubel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Provides hope on how nature (with the help of technology) can be used to keep cities livable during a climate crisis. One of my favourite non-fiction reads!!

[Yves Pepermans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iedereen herkent vast dat grijzige, onbestemde gevoel van frustratie als je een dag lang te veel tussen schermen en te weinig tussen bomen hebt doorgebracht.

Dit Vernieuwende, goed geschreven en verfrissende boek heft net tegenstellingen op tussen ecologie en technologie en tussen natuur en stad. Natuurlijke oplossingen kunnen veel verstedelijkingsproblemen oplossen, en omgekeerd kunnen vergroende steden heel veel betekenen voor de natuurlijke leefomgeving. Die specifieke waarde van natuurlijke steden voor de levende wereld buiten de stad had voor mij nog wat meer uitgewerkt mogen worden. Net als het psychologische en politieke aspect van verhaal. Technologische snufjes kunnen ons zeker helpen maar doen psychologische drempels of belangenconflicten niet wegnemen.

Dat de nabijheid tot kwalitatief groen (en blauw) ons op verschillende manieren gezonder en veiliger maakt is voor mij weinig verrassend. Het vernieuwende van dit boek zit vooral in de wereld van het Internet of Nature dat voor mij open ging. Als ik dat op voorhand zou hebben gelezen, zouden er wat haren recht opstaan bij mij, maar tijdens het lezen kreeg ik net kippenvel van bewondering van hoe wereldwijd AI, slimme sensoren of data-analyse het tij kunnen keren en de natuur helpen beschermen en zichtbaar maken.

Tip: hou pen en papier bij de hand om al dit nuttige tools en tips bij te houden.

[David Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Covers many of the problems caused by suburban sprawl (100% correct), but then argues against gentle urban infill density like ADUs as more “horizontal sprawl” that would uproot the occasional tree. It’s not as good as going vertical, she argues (again, correct), but then later argues against tall buildings because they bring shadows, despite also mentioning that surface temperatures in shaded areas of cities were, in one example, 38° cooler than neighborhoods without shade and how important that is in the face of global warming.

The ideas about the built environment are all over the place; some good, some bad, none of it consistent.

There are interesting stretches about wildfires, but most of the book operates at surface level and repeats what readers have probably already picked up elsewhere.

Too many counterproductive and flat-out wrong ideas in here for me to recommend to anyone, even if some parts of the books are quite enjoyable. It’s unfortunate.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened as an audio book.

The beginning and end of this book (I think prologue and epilogue), which are written in 2nd person, really threw me for a loop. I think the vibe was supposed to be "close your eyes and follow along" but I just thought that was weird 😂 I'm really not the audience for that kind of stuff. But I applaud the author for doing it! So many non-fiction books are dry and boring and do nothing to draw you in, but Galle said "hell no" and did something different. I think that's pretty cool.

Every chapter is about a different way nature affects our (largely) citie'd life. There's one about the way green spaces in cities help being down temperature on hot days, and how the lack of (acces to) green spaces has an affect on mental health too.
Another chapter discusses wildfires, natural disasters and the way it shapes humans relationship with nature.
Then, a chapter about biodiversity in cities and the importance of protecting it.

Some things Galle wrote, I feel like I kind of already knew about. I'd read it somewhere or heard it from someone - but this book pulls things together really well, makes connections and has a pleasant narrative as it's package. It explains both complex and simple(r) concepts clearly and logically. Like, "areas with wildfires are often prone to flooding" sounds like a bizarre statement until Galle explains that trees both burn very well, AND drain the soil from excess water. So if a tree gets burnt down every 3-5 years, it never develops a large enough root network to help prevent flooding.
Every chapter of The Nature of Our Cities was an exploration of a new facet, covering a wide array of topics, building up from very small or very big concepts, to the opposite. That made it more than palatable - I really enjoyed it.

I like how this book did not make me feel stupid, but instead kept me engaged and interested to learn and discover more. It made me feel like I was learning stuff, but very lowkey and without any pressure to do anything with my new knowledge. I'm sure it helped that I listened to The Nature of Our Cities while on various hikes myself. Very thematic of me! 😂

[Denise Philipp Rutledge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Goodreads for the giveaway and to the publisher for the copy of this book! I don’t live in the city environment of which most of this book discusses; however, I still think there are plenty of things for all of us to learn. Some of the chapters were a little longer than others and didn’t grab my attention. But I appreciated being introduced to all of the new technology that is working to help map, understand and improve our world. I walked away with many new apps installed on my own devices to try. I love that there is great discussion on how tech can be harnessed to get us back into nature. As a teacher, I enjoyed some of the final chapters in which the author shows facts on what screen time is doing to our youth. I was shocked to find out that the average kid spends four hours outside a week! It is our duty to help our kids understand the importance of nature and their role within it. I appreciated the epilogue in which she uses this final chapter to describe her dream of the future in 10 years in which we don’t even need to use tech to connect with nature because we will have brought back the environment into part of our identities. Passing this book along so that hopefully more people become inspired to pay attention to our world.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love an optimistic climate book 🙂

[tayler]

lots of important things to take away here but mainly just really want to give a hug to the tree in the backyard of my childhood home

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly interesting, deeply inspiring, and vivid writing!! Really looking forward to her virtual talk on 24 Feb with Regen City 😄

[Alyssa Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful read with strong storytelling and practical solutions. It offers a fresh perspective on urban issues, making it a must-read for anyone interested in city life and development.

[Gargi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did not enjoy the novel-style writing but appreciated learning about nature-based technology and found the book well-organized.

[Lauren Thornberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too techno-optimist for my tastes. The problem isn't with the optimism about what technology is capable of measuring and revealing, but rather too much optimism about how technology can change behavior. The constant theme throughout the book is that if we can prove to people and governments that protecting nature has economic benefits, they will act in rational self-interest and do the environmentally right thing. Unfortunately, we have plenty of proof that, in this current political climate, that just is not true.

The governor of Florida rejected hundreds of millions of dollars that would both combat climate change AND provide an economic boost to the state's economy. My own local government just reduced our parks and rec budget despite having easy access to all the metrics proving the park system's immense economic impact. In a political environment that is hostile to environmentalism, the government writ large, and long-term thinking, having information does not always lead people to act in rational economic self-interest.

I do believe that the technologies Galle describes have incredible potential and are valuable tools. But the main thesis that data alone can overcome a hostile political environment just does not bear out. I agree that doom and gloom climate messaging can cause people to feel paralyzed and lead to inaction, but we have to be realistic about the cultural changes necessary to point us in the right direction. Technology alone will not get us there.

Also, my other qualm is that I feel as though the author doesn't do enough to differentiate between true urban density (walkable and compact) and medium-density urban environments (suburbia). These two kinds of environments seem to be lumped together in a lot of the book, even though they are so radically different.

Anyway, it's not a bad book.

[Nolan Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book as part of a research spree I've been doing regarding technology and ecological change.

Pros:
The author has done plenty of in-person research, clearly shows problems, and presents possible solutions along with examples of places where it's been done.

Cons:
I am not a fan of the journalist turned novelist approach of peppering information with quirky descriptions of the 'larger than life' people and founders that smatter the book. If I want to read that person's biography, I will do so. Since I am not currently doing so, my interest is elsewhere, being the nature of our cities and the different approaches it takes.
I feel the book could have been cut down quite a bit and still retained all the information it needs to get across.

All in all, I recommend the book- though it did retread a lot of old ground, it also brought up some new topics and approaches I hadn't known about.
May read again with the intention of taking notes on the various companies and programs referenced within.

[roguereader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly the kind of well-researched, intelligent book we need right now on how technology is not a source of destruction, but could be part of our management of our natural resources.

Prior, I didn't think technology should or could play a role in how we manage our forests, rivers, etc, because, without us, they were doing just fine. However, after reading The Nature of our Cities, and recognizing that technology -and people alike - are necessary and could be a powerful tool in helping us fight climate change and build our cities in ways that benefit life.

This is the read we all need right now, and one that gives me hope about how we are stewards of our environment, and the very tools we need to save it are right at our fingertips.

Intelligent, powerful, and hopeful.

[Alex T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating 3.5/5

Interesting book about the relationship between humans and nature in modern times, especially in cities. However, it didn't hook me completely (especially the first hundred pages or so were a bit boring to me) and I was also kinda hoping for more focus on human-animal relations.

To me "nature" isn't just plants and trees and such, but the entirety of ecosystems including animals. And 95% of this book really just focuses on plants, there's very little focus on animals. Which I thought was a bit disappointing. I get it, plants are super important, but it feels a bit neglectful to exclude talking about animals in your book that's supposedly about nature. If you really want to focus on plants, that's fine, but then don't put the word "nature" in your title.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my CNU purchases this year, after I heard her speak on Gil Penalosa's brilliant "Cities for Everyone" webinar series. It's an accessibly written series of conversations with people working on the front lines of climate resilience and public access to nature. About half of the book is devoted to each. In each conversation, Galle lets her interviewees speak for themselves, though it's clear she has a lot of expertise and experience in nature herself. (She holds a Ph.D. in ecological engineering.)

The climate doesn't care about politics, of course, and will continue to change whether we are prepared or not. Galle's engaging book, and all the people in it, provide hope that the natural world will continue to be accessible, publicly valued, and conducive to human life.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this book for free as part of a giveaway.

This is an outstanding read for anyone concerned with climate change, the changing environment, or the lack of green space in our growing cities. Unlike the media sensationalism regarding climate change, this book discusses nature, how to preserve it, and the amazing benefits it provides. No fear mongering or doomsday predictions. Just a good read bringing in varying expert opinions and how to better incorporate a nature mindset into our busy lives.

Highly recommend this book to anyone interested in nature and our shared environment.

[Tyler Reymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

First nonfiction book I’ve read in a while. Although it took me a while to get through it (busy time in my life right now!), I learned so much from Nadina Galle’s research and interviews that she presents here. For anyone wondering how we could connect better with nature and learn to live with it in these ever-shifting times, this is a must-read. Her writing style comes through beautifully, turning a well-researched book into what feels like a walk across the forests and green cities of the world.

[Jamie Barringer (Ravenmount) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first and last chapter are a bit weaker, and I am not sure the 'Internet of Nature' concept works well or adds much to this book. That said, the meat of this book is well organized, has a lot to say, and is really interesting & worth reading. I hope this book and others like it will lead to more re-greening of our neighborhoods, and to our communities valuing our established trees and other in-town nature more.

[Ryan Donnelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really did enjoy this book. Although I find it slightly ironic I’m sharing my review on an app, because I don’t overly love technology. The more I read the more I just hoped we would use less technology. The immense power of nature. But I think what I appreciated the most was how some chapters gave me hope.

[Jessica Hembree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better health? Longer life expectancy? What is the answer? Trees. Green space. Spending time outdoors. I enjoyed the stories, statistics, and other information included in this text. I’m glad to see so many places understanding the importance of green space within the community.

[Jessie Selwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nadina’s unique approach to urban development is both imaginative and practical. The narratives are engaging, and the solutions are creative, making this book a standout in the genre. A thought-provoking and inspiring read!

[Jordan Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so interesting! The whole time I was reading it I was bringing it up to people because there were so many relevant topics, and it was so interesting to read about nature and technology. I think some of the chapters were a bit long, but I will definitely be recommending this!

[Jon Wittig · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the subject matter isn't the most exciting, it was still interesting to learn about the more subtle ways to combat the climate crisis. Knowing that there are smaller things we can do left me with a feeling of hope

[Paul Haseloop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mooi boek over ecologie en innovatie om steden leefbaar te houden in deze tijd van klimaatverandering, met veel voorbeelden uit Nederland. Toegankelijk en goed leesbaar.

[Edie · Rating 4 out of 5]

appreciated the different threads galle stiches together between and across levels of urban nature and the different effects climate change has and will have on cities.

[Shannon Jerram · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little community trees team bookclub read. Obsessed!! Feeling really inspired and energized by the purpose of our work 💚🌳

[Catly Do · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down