Sustainable futures: Conceptualizing ‘nature’ in architecture and cities

Today, we face a broad set of self-imposed challenges: the climate crisis, air pollution, loss of biodiversity, and many more. As humans we are increasingly threatening our own conditions of existence. While we are developing an increasing awareness of the fragility of our ‘environment’ the idea of integrating ‘nature’ became in the vocabulary of architects, urban planners, clients, engineers, citizens, politicians and many others an important agenda topic. But what is actually meant by ‘nature’ and how to understand the notion of ‘nature’ in design and planning practices?