EcoCARE

The rapid expansion of urban areas and the prioritization of human-centered development have led to critical ecological challenges, including biodiversity loss, habitat fragmentation, and exposure to climate change risks. These issues are exacerbated by siloed, conventional planning practices that often overlook the interconnected life-worlds shared by humans and non-humans within urban ecosystems. Addressing these challenges requires a paradigm shift toward a more-than-human urban planning and design. EcoCARE proposes a novel approach implementing three interconnected methodologies that enable a circular urban economy: (1) commons-based ecological stewardship of resources, (2) multispecies design of urban spaces and (3) transformative multispecies pedagogies. By integrating these approaches, the project diversifies local biotopes (wetlands, rewilding, etc.) to increase biodiversity, enhances socio-ecological resilience, and supports circular more-than-human community economies. Through a series of living labs in post-industrial suburban and peri-urban neighborhoods in 5 countries across Europe, EcoCARE will experiment with participatory design processes, embedding more-than-human perspectives in urban regeneration projects including suburban natural areas, peri-urban nature management, biodiversity for food adapted to climate change, forest farming. These living labs will serve as learning hubs and experimental platforms for co-regenerating resilient and open spaces that prioritize ecological health, community engagement ​​in multi-species strategies, and socio-ecological connectivity towards enhancing urban biodiversity.