ESSAYS | POINTS OF VIEW
-
The Invisible Flows: Reactivating another way of knowing to Integrate the Inner and Outer Ryuiki (Part 3 of 3)
In Japan, a form of primordial animism has long existed: a sensibility that perceives mysterious power in stones, trees, and even mountains themselves, revering them as sacred presences. What is important is that many of these traditions are not merely religious beliefs, but forms of practical wisdom rooted in everyday life and in careful observation…
-
The Layered Archipelago: The Wisdom of a Cultural Syncretism and Regeneration Embedded in Japanese Myth and History (Part 2 of 3)
As we saw in Part 1, Ryuiki Awareness is the capacity to perceive the world as an interconnected whole, in which all existence is dynamically linked. In Part 2, we turn to cultural history and ancient myths to explore how this awareness came to be cultivated on the Japanese volcanic archipelago. Shinbutsu-Shugo and the Faith…
-
Ryuiki: Sensing the Living Workings of All Existence as Kami—Rediscovering Japanese Culture as a Path toward Regenerative Futures in the Daisen Watershed (Part 1 of 3)
How might humanity reweave its relationship with a fraying world and rebuild a regenerative civilization that can flourish alongside the living Earth? Such thoughts were crossing my mind as I walked through the mountains. No—this is not the moment for such thoughts. “Listen to the voices of the mountains and rivers,” the senior priest says.…
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.
SUPPORT BETTER CITIES,
JOIN OUR NETWORK OF DONORS…
ASK TNOC!
ROUNDTABLES | GLOBAL DISCUSSIONS
-
Rising autocracy around the globe is strangling science and crippling public dialogue around knowledge and action in sustainability. What now?
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Rising autocracy around the globe is strangling science and crippling public dialogue around knowledge and action in sustainability. What now?
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.
JOIN THOUSANDS OF READERS
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
