ESSAYS | POINTS OF VIEW
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Art That Moves Cities: How Creativity Revives Place and Spirit
I stood on a hillside in the Comuna 13 neighborhood of Medellín, Colombia, where color burst from walls and rhythm pulsed through alleys. Once infamous for violence, this neighborhood now thrives with the energy of breakdancers, artists, and muralists—its transformation fueled not by policy alone, but by paint, performance, and people power. Months earlier, I…
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Teaching Environmental Politics During the Trump Presidency
When I was offered a full-time, tenure-track position in environmental politics just out of graduate school, I was elated. My research on disaster response, environmental stewardship, and community organizing, as well as my past experience teaching urban ecology made it feel like a perfect fit. It hardly occurred to me that I would be teaching…
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How We Miss Half of Wildlife: On the secret world in front of your doorstep
The following is an extended excerpt from Living Night by Sophia Kimmig. For years, I went about my life without noticing it, the dark world. I never gave it a thought. And yet, it’s not all that far away, it’s not hidden away in some far-flung place. It’s right under our noses. Imagine a city…
TNOC’S MISSION
Cities and communities that are better for nature and all people, through transdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration.
We combine art, science, and practice in innovative and publicly available engagements for knowledge-driven, imaginative, and just green city making.
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ROUNDTABLES | GLOBAL DISCUSSIONS
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A new rurality is emerging—not nostalgic, but reinvented. Can we move beyond urban-rural divides and embrace the fluid, interwoven realities of today’s landscapes in ways that foster resilience, innovation, and equity?
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: A new rurality is emerging—not nostalgic, but reinvented. Can we move beyond urban-rural divides and embrace the fluid, interwoven realities of today’s landscapes in ways that foster resilience, innovation, and equity?
PROJECTS | ART, SCIENCE & ACTION, TOGETHER
TNOC FESTIVAL 2026
The journey to greener,
more inclusive cities
continues…
SPROUT POETRY JOURNAL
ISSUE 4: CARE
This latest issue includes works that interrogate the modes of engaging with others in (urban and natural) space that can speak to the interrelated dimensions of care.
NBS COMICS: NATURE TO SAVE THE WORLD
26 Visions for Urban Equity, Inclusion and Opportunity
Now a global project with over ONE MILLION readers, we invite comic creators from all over the world to imagine comics about how people and nature might thrive together. Nature-based Solutions (NBS) Comics empowers creators to combine science and storytelling.
STORIES OF TNOC: VOLUME 2
Cheeky monkeys, vertical farms, climate change, and tree tribunals. Our latest collection features 49 short stories from 20 countries that radically re-imagine city life.
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AROUND THE WORLD…
THE NATURE OF GRAFFITI
This is the nature of graffiti. It facilitates speech. It speaks to us. It stakes claims and makes statements. It tells stories.
The Nature of Cities hosts a public gallery about the graffiti and street art that motivates us in public places.
REVERBERATIONS EXHIBITION
Close your eyes. What do you hear?
An exhibition exploring the elements through art, science, and sound, with over 30 contributors from various disciplines in a multimedia experience. Produced by the USDA Forest Service and The Nature of Cities.
THE JUST CITY ESSAYS
