ABSTRACT
The manifestoes advocating for designing with nature in mind have focused on creating ecologically sustainable built environments from humans’ perspectives as much as from the natural world’s. Most twentieth-century urban design paradigms considered the world of animals other than humans, insects, and plants to be something to manipulate to enhance the health and aesthetic requirements of people. Prescriptions for self-consciously designing with the climate and local ecosystems in mind have a long history. The argument made in all the statements on designing ‘with nature in mind’ is that at all scales, an ecologically based urban design is required in an increasingly urbanizing world. Advocates for planning and designing sustainable cities reject the idea of end-state comprehensive plans and think instead of initial strategic acts that create diverse opportunities for subsequent decisions. The research on designing with the climate in mind has yielded a series of generic ideas and illustrative designs.
