Rethinking urban nature as technonature

A new Nature Comment by Simon Marvin, Sophia Maalsen and Robyn Dowling argues that urban nature is entering a new phase in which ecological processes are increasingly sensed, modelled and continuously adjusted through digital technologies.

TECHNO GARDENING
Image credit: sarawuth702

Building on earlier debates on technonature, the paper introduces the concept of digital technonatures to describe urban environments where plants, soils and ecosystems are increasingly managed through sensors, data analytics and automated control. 

Using examples that include smart green walls, controlled-environment agriculture and digitally mediated domestic growing systems, the paper argues that urban nature is shifting from being physically engineered to being operationally managed, raising important questions about environmental justice, governance and the future of climate adaptation in cities.

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