URBIODIV IRP (English subtitles)

URBIODIV coordinators Vincent MIRZA (University of Ottawa) and Michel LUSSAULT (ENS de Lyon) tell us about their International Research Project (IRP).

URBIODIV is an IRP focusing on the implications of post-1950 urbanization on ecosystems, with an emphasis on suburban areas. Scientific fields include urban studies, urban ecology, and urban planning. The aim is to integrate the need to revitalize ecosystems into the practices and theories of urban planning, highlighting suburban spaces as areas at stake. The Ottawa and Lyon metropolitan areas are the study sites.

The methodology involves the selection of typical spaces characterizing ecosystem issues, collective brainstorming workshops, fieldwork and workshops to define the principles of biodiversity urban planning. This project is being conducted in collaboration with the Environnement, Ville, Société laboratory (UMR CNRS/Université de Lyon), the Laboratoire d’écologie des hydrosystèmes naturels et anthropisés (UMR CNRS/Université de Lyon), the Centre for Research on the Future of Cities (University of Ottawa), and the Joint Research Chair on Urban Anthropocene between the University of Ottawa and the Université de Lyon.

The expected results will contribute to a set of specifications for integrating biodiversity into urban planning policies, with implications at geo-social, ecological, anthropological, and technological levels.