Cities Celebrating Birds
January 2013
Photo: Juan Burgos
Post by Carla Jones, Biophilic Cities Researcher
Carla is a recent graduate in Masters in Urban and Environmental Planning and Masters in Public Health at the University of Virginia.
A bird’s life isn’t easy. With suburban sprawl and development, bird populations are in trouble. According to the National Audubon Society, “the average population of the common birds in steepest decline have fallen by 68 percent” since 1967. Cities are attempting to address the problem by establishing design guidelines for buildings to prevent bird deaths, but some are going beyond this by instituting programs and policies that actually attract birds. The Los Angeles, California neighborhood at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Hoover Street is doing just that through a local elementary school. Three years ago,
Leo Politi Elementary School decided to revitalize a corner of its campus by planting native flora. The intention was to improve the corner aesthetically for its students and residents, but the corner plantings did much more than that. The garden soon attracted a variety of birds and insects. This revitalized corner has become a favorite spot of students and has been associated with increased test scores and an increased ability of students to identify species of birds and insects. This garden story shows that improving bird habitats can often be easy and inexpensive.
Design firms are also considering the quality of wildlife habitats. A firm, Openfabric, in Rotterdam, Netherlands is creatively thinking about how they might be able to improve biodiversity habitats in the city. The firm contends that cities are still taking a city versus nature approach instead of embracing and working with nature. Openfabric’s designs include transforming 19.5 miles of railway and 58.1 miles of tramlines into green corridors, which encourage wildlife ranging from insects and birds to come into the city. An article in Treehugger, referred to these areas a “hubs for birds.” By using the already extensive transportation network, these wildlife habitats connect and are distributed across the city to help support the 125 bird species located there. This design is still in the planning stages and no implementation strategy has been identified yet.
Lastly, Wisconsin takes the scope beyond specific cites and has created a Bird City classification program. Bird City communities are recognized for their dedication to working with citizens to make their communities “a better place for people, birds, and other wildlife.” This concept was adapted from the “Tree City USA” program.
The “bird city” program consists of twenty-two criteria for the conservation of birds. In order to become a Bird City, communities must meet at least seven of those criteria. This program is the product of collaboration between the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Audobon Society, the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative, and the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology.