Urban rewilding: Examples of cities implementing rewilding projects

This case study-oriented note compiles examples of cities that have implemented urban rewilding initiatives, making it directly useful for local-government and urban-ecology audiences. The text emphasizes that urban rewilding has been used to restore biodiversity in cities by reintroducing native plant species, creating wildlife habitat, and allowing more natural ecological processes to resume in highly modified landscapes. It also identifies several practical co-benefits that are often important for project approval: improved pollination, natural pest control, return of migratory birds, better air and water quality, reduced carbon dioxide through expanded green space, lower urban heat island effects, reduced noise pollution, and broader climate resilience. The note is valuable because it does not treat rewilding as a purely aesthetic or symbolic intervention; instead, it presents it as a systems approach with measurable environmental services and urban-performance benefits. The excerpt also points to implementation realities, noting that successful projects require careful planning, community engagement, long-term commitment, and collaboration among city authorities, environmental organizations, local communities, urban planners, and ecologists. That emphasis on governance and maintenance makes the piece especially relevant for practitioners trying to move from concept to delivery. The Moleneind project is singled out as an example of how a degraded urban site can be transformed into a thriving ecosystem that serves both nature and people, which suggests the article includes concrete precedent rather than general advocacy. Overall, this source is best read as an applied urban-rewilding overview that helps practitioners understand both the ecological logic and the coordination challenges of city-scale restoration.