Urban Nature Munich

By: Alix Gelabert
Supervisor: Dr. Gesa Lüdecke

After studying architecture and urban planning I decided to focus on the place of nature in cities and how citizens interact with nature in the urban environment in their daily-life. I lived in Munich for five years now, and I always heard generalities like "Munich is very green", or "Living in Munich is so comfortable thanks to the parks." But does this really reflect reality? I decided to look more into urban nature in the city of Munich.

With a brief survey, I sought to gain valuable insights into citizen’s perceptions and experiences of nature within the city. The results revealed that nature holds significant importance for the majority of participants. However, interestingly, only a few locations were consistently mentioned as places where they engage with nature in their daily lives. Despite the acknowledged significance of nature, it became evident that there is room to explore and discover more diverse urban nature spots that resonate with people's daily routines.

Thus with my final project, I wanted to empower individuals to discover or rediscover the city of Munich through its urban nature. Additionally, I aimed to introduce essential concepts like multi-species development and human-nature relations to the audience. To achieve this, I chose to create a guide that would serve as a valuable resource. Taking inspiration from city guides and touristic books, I envisioned a thematic guide centered around the urban nature of Munich. This format, whether in print or digital form, ensures accessibility and convenience, allowing people to carry it with them at all times.

This guide, presented as a short pamphlet, would include a collection of interesting locations, initiatives, projects, and events relevant to urban nature in the city. With this guide I aspired to inspire people to explore Munich’s urban nature and promote a greater understanding of multi-species development and human-nature relationships. Developing a concise guide proved to be challenging, given the vastness of the urban nature topic and the abundance of relevant locations and initiatives in Munich. The city offers so many fascinating places and projects, making it difficult to select just a few for the guide.

Perhaps a more effective approach would have been to establish an open-source platform as the starting point. This platform could have served as a reference hub for all things related to urban nature and the interaction between humans and nature in Munich. By providing initial content, the platform could have encouraged further contributions from the community. The envisioned platform would have become a valuable resource, where individuals could find information about initiatives, workshops, and events, fostering a sense of exchange and collaboration. Embracing the collective knowledge and experiences of the community could have allowed for a richer and more comprehensive exploration of urban nature in Munich.