Paul Downton
Melbourne
Artist, writer, ‘ecocity pioneer’. A former architect with a PhD in environmental studies, Paul is distressed by how the powerful idea of ecological cities has been perverted, citing ’Neom’ as a prime example. Still inspired by his deceased life-partner Chérie Hoyle (1946-2024), Paul is continuing his graphic novel / epic poem / art project called ’The Quest for Wild Cities’ that he promised Chérie he’d finish along with his 80% complete ‘Fractal Handbook for Urban Evolutionaries’!
More by this author at The Nature of Cities
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What does it mean to be a good ancestor to the people, places, and things we care about?
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Whimsy. Is there a role for laughter, subversive curve balls, ironic romance and “oh wow that’s cool” moments in the mainstreaming of knowledge and action in sustainability, climate change, and biodiversity?
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We have had trouble getting people’s attention about climate change. Some climate activists glued themself to a van Gogh painting (and others). Is this helpful?
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A Pattern Language for Urban Nature
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Covid has upended all the normal routines in our lives and work. How do you imagine you might be changed by it, both professionally, but also personally as you negotiate a new post-virus “normal”?
Africa, Awareness, Biodiversity, Climate change, Communities, Conservation, Covid-19, Culture, Disasters/Red zone, Economics, Ecosystem services, Europe, Experiencing Nature, Green Infrastructure, Health, Justice, Livability, North America, Parks, Participation/Democracy, Planning, Pollution, Resilience, South America, Sustainability, Wildlife People Interactions -
What prevents us from creating cities that are better for people and nature? It doesn’t seem like a lack of knowledge—don’t we have enough research knowledge to act on better policy? So, what is the impediment?
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(R)Evolution and Cities
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What is one thing every ecologist should know about urban ecology?
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Half-Earth Cities
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Are cities ecosystems—analogous to natural ones—of nature, infrastructure and people? Does thinking about cities in this way help us think about urban design?
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What are we trying to accomplish with biophilic cities? What are ambitious goals and targets, and measures of success?
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Seven Things You Need to Know about Ecocities
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Can a City Be Sustainable?
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Common threads: connections among the ideas of Jane Jacobs and Elinor Ostrom, and their relevance to urban socio-ecology
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Ceci N’est Pas le Ciel: Biophilia, Design, and Illusions of Authenticity
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Graffiti and street art can be controversial, but can also be a medium for voices of social change, protest, or expressions of community desire. What, how, and where are examples of graffiti as a positive force in communities?
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Ecodesign is for Citizens and Nature, not for Consumers
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Creative Place-Making—This is The Nature of Graffiti
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Sowing the Seeds of Green Urbanism: ‘Spring is Here and the Time is Right for Planting in the Streets’
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Why We Need Design Guidelines for Urban Non-Humans
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Signals and Snapshots from Semaphore: Musings on Design Guidelines for Urban Fractals
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Born to be Wild (Sort of)
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Graffiti on the Path and the Nature of Public Space
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Should programs in architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture require a certain minimum level of learning about the fundamentals of ecology? Why?
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Form, Function, and Cultural Memory: Recalling the Nature of Cities
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Straw Polls, Dodos and the Value of Landscape
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Neighborhoods and Urban Fractals—The Building Blocks of Sustainable Cities