Metropolitan habitat

Planning animal-human relations in the "urban habitat"
Research project at the Department of Open Space Planning
 

Head: Prof. Dr. Stefanie Hennecke
Editing: Dr. Annette Voigt and Dr. Wiebke Reinert
 

Wild animals belong to the big city. Traditionally, they are located in the wilderness and the big city is regarded as an exclusive place of human society. But this traditional dichotomy is beginning to falter. Different species of wild animals live in the big cities and they are increasingly being discussed in science and the media. But how are humans and wild animals living together in the city? What regulatory policies and planning do wild city dwellers initiate? How have existing practices in dealing with wild animals developed historically? One task of planning and management is to control the presence of wildlife in the city, e.g. by protecting habitats, erecting barriers or regulating the number of individuals through hunting, pest control or targeted feeding. These practices of administrative and planning action reflect both the historically evolved characteristics and spatial planning of animal-human relationships in large cities and the conflicts and negotiation processes triggered by them.

The DFG-funded research project "Planning of animal-human relations in the 'urban habitat'" investigates the interaction between animals living in the wild in urban space on the one hand and political, planning and administrative action in response to this animal presence on the other. The aim of the project is to work out and discuss the specific spatial impact aspects of the interplay between autonomously moving and behaving animals in the city and the planning policy and administrative measures that react to them, and to make the research findings available for concrete planning. The project is based on the thesis that in Germany, the regimes of hygiene, hunting and nature conservation have traditionally determined the treatment of wild animals in the city and led to the formation of certain cultural animal types such as the "pest" or "beneficial animal", the "game" or the "species worthy of protection". The aim is to gain relevant insights for innovative planning approaches through a more precise understanding of the premises and functioning of previous planning actions in dealing with wild animals in the city. Through case studies of three major German cities (Berlin, Hamburg and Munich), the thesis will also be examined as to whether current planning discourses are undergoing a strategic shift from an exclusionary and simultaneously defensive-preservative approach to nature and wildlife (protected areas) to an integrative approach (co-habitats) that recognizes the effectiveness of animals and takes an offensive approach. The results of the research project will document and analyze the traditional structures of planning practice in dealing with animals in the city in a monograph and draw conclusions for future planning action.