Episode 30 - Designing Biophilic Cities with Timothy Beatley
In this episode of the Sustainable Futures Podcast, Steven Peck sits down with Professor Timothy Beatley, a leading voice in sustainable communities, biophilic cities, and green urbanism. They explore how cities can reconnect people with nature, from overcoming our growing disconnect from the natural world to creating more biophilic urban environments. Beatley discusses biophilia, lessons from around the world, the role of green roofs and walls, and the challenges and opportunities for expanding green infrastructure. He also shares his vision for the future of cities in the face of climate change and how communities can become healthier, more resilient, and more connected to nature.
Guest
Timothy Beatley
Timothy Beatley is the Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities at the University of Virginia, where he has taught for more than thirty years. He is the author or co-author of more than twenty books, including Green Urbanism: Learning from European Cities, Native to Nowhere: Sustaining Home and Community in a Global Age, and Biophilic Cities: Integrating Nature Into Urban Design and Planning, and The Bird-Friendly City: Creating Safe Urban Environments (Island Press, 2020). Beatley’s research has been funded by, among others, the National Science Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the World Bank and the Richard King Mellon Foundation. His two latest books are Canopy Cities (Routledge 2023) and The Ethics of Cities (UNC Press 2024). For 10 years Beatley wrote a column for Planning Magazine called Ever Green. Beatley directs the Biophilic Cities Project at UVA (http://biophiliccities.org/) and co-founded UVA’s Center for Design and Health, within the School of Architecture. He is currently in the process of helping to establish a new center at UVA–the Center for Forest Urbanism–with seed funding from the Jefferson Trust.
Host
Steven Peck, GRP, HASLA
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
Steven spearheaded the first green roof demonstration project on Toronto City Hall 20 years ago and the mandatory green roof policy in Toronto a decade ago. This innovative policy has resulted in more than 6 million additional square feet of green space across the city. Due to Steven’s work, GRHC has helped to win green roof policy victories in San Francisco, Washington, DC; Portland, Oregon; and Denver, Colorado. Steven also founded Green Infrastructure Ontario coalition to bring together organizations that share an interest in the protection and development of green infrastructure in Ontario. In 2007 he co-founded the World Green Infrastructure Network, an international organization that promotes the use of green infrastructure around the world.
