Fairbairn and colleagues make urban design biologically legible. Across 103 public squares in Munich, they measure birds, pollinators, arthropods, bats, small mammals, bryophytes and spontaneous vegetation while recording lawns, shrubs, tree density, artificial lighting, human use, pets and surrounding green cover. Greater greenness generally increases richness and abundance, but different taxa respond to different spatial features. The central idea is therefore not that greener squares are simply more biodiverse, but that public-space design creates species-specific habitat conditions. Human occupancy and domestic animals enter the ecological model alongside vegetation, making the square a genuine multispecies environment rather than a human public realm decorated with nature. Methodologically, the paper combines detailed ecological sampling with spatial design variables across a large set of urban sites. Its wider bridge is to architecture and urbanism: every paving decision, shrub volume, tree arrangement or lighting regime becomes an ecological decision whether or not designers recognise it as such.
URBANISM MEETS ART