Biophilic cities as a key to sustainability: a case study of Oslo

Abstract

Urbanisation, which has been rapidly progressing for the past few decades, is a powerful ecological factor. It changes the whole human environment and leads to many issues, e.g. air and water pollution and related physical health problems, as well as mental distress. One of the possible solutions to reduce or completely eliminate these negative effects in the long run is the concept of a biophilic city based on the idea of organic connections between people and other living creatures and their belonging to nature. Oslo, a perfect example of biophilic city and European Green Capital, has been chosen for analysis in this paper. This research will analyse the positive effects of this concept (e.g. conservation of biological diversity) on people's well-being, as well as on the environment. Furthermore, the main goal is to determine the key principles of a biophilic city and to analyse how they can be effectively implemented in practice. Through the example of Oslo, this research will illustrate how nature can be consistently integrated into the urban infrastructure and what kind of urban development measures should be taken.