A regenerative city is an urban development built on an environmentally enhancing, restorative relationship with the natural systems from which the city draws resources for its sustenance.[1] A regenerative city maintains a symbiotic, mutually beneficial relationship with its surrounding hinterland not only by minimizing its environmental impact but by actively improving and regenerating the productive capacity of the ecosystems from which it depends.[2]
The concept of a Regenerative City was first developed by an International Expert Commission on Cities and Climate Change convened by the World Future Council jointly with Hamburg University for Architecture and Urban Development (HCU) between 2008 and 2011.[1] The Commission consisted of urban planning experts, climate scientists, representatives of the United Nations, politicians and the private sector.[1] The concept was first presented through the report “Regenerative Cities” in 2010[1] and further expanded in various subsequent reports[2][3][4] as well as in the book titled “Creating Regenerative Cities” by Herbert Girardet.[5] Since 2011 the concept was also recurrently discussed during the annual Future of Cities Forum.[6]
The regenerative city is also included in the principles for the New Urban Paradigm as outlined in The City We Need document compiled by the UN-Habitat advocacy and partnership platform the World Urban Campaign.[7] The City We Need, whose aim is to set key principles and establish essential paths for building a New Urban Agenda towards the Habitat III conference, states that “the city we need is a regenerative city”.[7]
Examples of cities committing to the regenerative city concept include the city of Wittenberg in Germany which declared its intention to become a regenerative city in 2013.[8] Similarly, Iowa City in the U.S. launched the Regenerative City Initiative in 2014, consisting of various projects and strategies to transform the city into a regenerative city.[9]