The Earth is losing animals, plants and other living things so fast that some scientists believe the planet is entering its sixth mass extinction. But there’s some surprising good news: Urban areas may be key to slowing down or even reversing this crisis.
This idea may seem counterintuitive, since studies show that urbanization is a big driver of biodiversity loss. Cities alter the environment with artificial lighting and noise pollution, which affect many species. And urban land cover is expected to increase by 2.5% globally between 2000 and 2030as more people move to cities.
As one measure of urbanization, half of the continent of Europe is less than 1 mile (1.5 kilometers) from a roadway or railway line. No location on the continent is more than 6 miles (10 kilometers) from these features.
But there are ways for cities to use nature-based solutions to slow species loss within their borders. At a major international conference on biodiversity loss in 2022, global leaders agreed to ambitious goals for restoring natural ecosystems across the planet, including targets aimed at “ensur[ing] biodiversity-inclusive urban planning”.
