ABSTRACT
Although precious health and wellbeing benefits can result from investments into urban green and blue infrastructure, access to these benefits is uneven. Surprisingly little is known about the conditions, programmes, policies and practices that support more equitable access to, influence over and governance of urban nature by diverse cosmopolitan communities. Based on our experiences applying a model from Hawaiʻi in New York City (NYC), we describe how sacred relationships with nature enhance the stewardship capacity of natural resource professionals and community members, with profound impacts on how people interact with urban landscapes and seascapes. By engaging in traditional rituals and adapting rituals for new settings, communities and managers can collaboratively work to cultivate and express personal connections to place, which can enhance equitable access to urban nature.
