ABSTRACT
In order to build resilience and face uncertainty and change means to harness the interactions between stakeholders. In most current discussions about how to make cities more resilient, biodiverse, and ecosystem-based, the potential for citizens to participate in planning, management, and maintenance of urban nature is largely overlooked. There are numerous examples of citizens’ movements in different regions of the world. In this chapter, the authors explore several representative case studies that are related to urban landscape transformation, from gray to green. The urban landscape is a co-creation of many, so it is useful to understand not only the biophysical resources of a city – such as biodiversity and water and land – but also the social resources, including the people and organizations that care for the system. Public space activism is an important vehicle for civic engagement and form of balance against private interests and governments which, in some cases, may not be working in the people’s best interests.
