Nature and City: A Health Symbiosis

Cities should be the perfect symbiosis between urbanism and nature. The Anthropocene is evidence of the enormous impact that humans are having on the planet. In the context of cities, urban planning, architecture, and human development must interact with nature to offer a better quality of life to all citizens. Reflection and analysis are essential parameters for deciding which strategy is the most optimal in large and medium-sized cities so that they are correctly articulated and in harmony with their own interior and peripheral nature. This objective simultaneously entails the optimisation of our resources, from the most basic ones—air, water, and food—to the ecosystems and biodiversity that sustain us. This research, based on a literature review, studies some examples of cities where different strategies have been applied to achieve this regeneration in different contexts, such as the Asunción Plan in Paraguay, the ‘Open Shore’ project in West Palm Beach, Florida, the recovery of the natural geometry of the Aire River in Geneva, and the Cerdà superblocks in Barcelona. From this case study analysis, the conclusions point to the concealment of large infrastructures, the introduction of green corridors, the renaturation of river areas and waterfronts, the introduction of agriculture to the city, and the production of fresh water in coastal areas.