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What is urban biodiversity?
Urban biodiversity refers to the variety of plant and animal life found within city environments. Historically, biodiversity was seen as a casualty of urban expansion, with built environments replacing natural habitats. Now, this view is changing. Experts see biodiversity as a fundamental element in sustainable urban design, with benefits that extend beyond just environmental health. Rich, varied urban ecosystems provide essential services — such as improved stormwater management and reduced urban heat island effects — while enhancing social and recreational opportunities for communities.
Creating cities that foster biodiversity is a complex task, requiring strategic planning, the right selection of nature-based interventions, and a deep understanding of how these measures affect the urban microclimate. However, many cities are beginning to recognize the importance of preserving and enhancing biodiversity within urban landscapes. A prime example is Milan’s Vertical Forest, which integrates over 800 trees and 20,000 plants into two residential towers, creating a vertical woodland that supports biodiversity while improving air quality and regulating local temperatures. This innovative approach demonstrates how urban design can sustain both people and nature while fostering resilience.
Image: Vertical forest in Milan
The role of climate simulation tools in urban biodiversity planning
Urban biodiversity isn’t just about planting trees or installing green roofs — it’s about understanding how these interventions affect the local environment over time. ENVI-met is a climate simulation tool that helps urban planners to understand and visualize the impact of vegetation, water bodies, and built structures on a city’s microclimate. It enables users to explore different nature-based solutions and forecast their long-term effects on urban biodiversity. For instance, ENVI-met can help planners decide which types of plants will thrive in a specific microclimate or identify the best locations for water bodies to optimize heat reduction effects.
With ENVI-met, planners can therefore answer crucial questions:
- How will a new park or green wall affect local temperatures and air quality?
- Will adding trees to a neighborhood reduce energy consumption in nearby buildings?
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What types of vegetation is most likely to flourish in a specific microclimate?
Real-world examples of urban biodiversity solutions
Urban planners and architects have begun using climate simulation tools like ENVI-met to implement nature-based solutions that improve biodiversity. Below are three real-world examples that demonstrate how these interventions can create more resilient cities.
In Kolkata, an ENVI-met study explored how strategic greening interventions could reduce heat stress in the city by up to 8°C. The focus was on cooling densely populated areas through thoughtful green space design. This example demonstrates that it is possible to reduce urban heat and promote biodiversity, even in dense urban settings.
In Dubai, planners used ENVI-met to develop a strategy that integrated passive cooling solutions with biodiversity objectives. The plan included shaded walkways, expanded vegetation areas, and water features to create more livable spaces while improving vegetation cover. The results indicated that these measures could reduce temperatures by 5°C-10°C. This study highlights the value of using microclimate simulations to effectively balance heat reduction and biodiversity goals.
Another study explored how urban design could lower city temperatures by optimizing small green spaces. ENVI-met simulations showed that thoughtful design, including the strategic placement of vegetation and airflow corridors, could extend heat reduction effects to surrounding neighborhoods, while creating habitats that support urban biodiversity. The study emphasized that even small green spaces play a significant role in urban cooling and should be integral to urban design.
These examples demonstrate how cities can integrate nature-based solutions using climate simulation tool, making informed decisions to foster urban biodiversity, improve human comfort, and increase resilience to climate change. By prioritizing biodiversity in urban planning, cities can improve ecosystems and quality of life — creating a more sustainable future for both people and nature.
