The Next Green Revolution: Rebuilding Urban Abundance Through Plant Community-Based Design

Climate change, mass extinction, rapid urbanization, and industrial land use dramatically impact our life quality and reduce core ecosystem services all life on Earth depends on. Preserving natural lands outside of our cities is no longer enough to ensure our own survival. A fundamental shift in the way we plan and design urban landscapes—toward hyper-functional and highly evocative plantings in our cities and industrial landscapes—is necessary to reduce negative environmental effects, repair essential ecosystem services, reconnect people with elements of nature, and create healthier and more resilient cityscapes. This paper describes the planting design methods applied by U.S.-based Phyto Studio and explains how innovative planting systems can rebuild abundant life in our cities. We elaborate on the three core principles of how plants relate to one another, to people, and to the larger environment, illustrate the application of this planting model with case studies, and discuss strategies to adapt the model to the unique environmental and socio-political context of Chinese cities.