This book critically engages with the contemporary challenges and opportunities of wild cities in a climate of change.

A key focus of the book is exploring the nexus of possibilities for wild cities and the eco-ethical imagination needed to drive sustainable and resilient urban pathways. Many now have serious doubts about the prospects for humanity to live within cities that are socially just and responsive to planetary limits. Is it possible for planning to better serve, protect and nurture our human and non-human worlds? This book argues it is.

Drawing on international literature and Australian case examples, this book explores issues around climate change, colonization, urban (in)security and the rights to the city for both humans and nature. It is within this context that this book focuses on the urgent need to better understand how contemporary cities have changed, and the relational role of planning within it.

Planning Wild Cities will be of particular interest to students and scholars of planning, urban studies, and sustainable development, and for all those invested in re-shaping our ‘wild’ city futures.

Wendy Steele is an Associate Professor in Sustainability and Urban Planning with the Centre for Urban Research at RMIT University, Melbourne Australia. Her research and practice focus on cities in a climate of change, with a particular emphasis on climate justice, urban resilience, critical governance, infrastructures of care and planning theory. Her previous books include A Climate for Growth, Planning Across Borders and Global City Challenges: Debating a concept, improving a practice.