Three Things to Know
Our urban areas have largely been designed without considering animals. However, with wild animals losing habitats, food-producing animals re-emerging through urban farming, and companion animals growing in popularity, the authors introduce Lucca, Italy, as an example of an animal nature-based solution that considers both animal and human needs.
Lucca aims to develop Europe’s first human-animal smart city. It treats animals not as isolated private concerns but as public resources that contribute to community health, social inclusion, and economic vibrancy. Through a highly participatory process, the project engages local municipality staff, NGOs, businesses, and citizens to co-design and implement both infrastructural (“hard”) and social/policy-based (“soft”) interventions.
A flagship initiative, the “Animal Lines,” connects urban and peri-urban areas to foster interactions between people and animals, especially companion animals. Additional efforts include an animal-themed card game and app to engage youth and tourists, animal-assisted interventions in nursing homes, and policy integration across tourism, transport, public health, and environmental sectors.
For Dog Welfare Practitioners
Building an equitable city for both humans and canines requires a fundamental rethink. Animal nature-based solutions and the IN-HABIT project introduced here represent one innovative path for this re-evaluation. Keys to success include a participatory approach involving local governments, NGOs, and citizens, alongside a flagship initiative and complementary efforts that span multiple sectors such as education, health, and tourism. It is imperative for dog welfare advocates to form local coalitions to ensure this approach succeeds.
The Full Picture
Growing urban challenges — such as inequality, environmental degradation, and limited public resources — are driving cities to seek innovative, inclusive solutions like nature-based solutions (NBSs). While NBSs typically focus on green infrastructure, this study, titled “Animals and Cities: A Reflection on Their Potential in Innovating Nature-Based Solutions”, highlights the overlooked role of nonhuman animals in enhancing urban well-being. It argues that animals, through their interactions with humans, can contribute to improved health, social cohesion, and support for vulnerable populations.
Nature-Based Solutions
Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) have gained prominence as innovative, cost-effective interventions that leverage natural processes to address environmental, social, and economic challenges. Defined by the European Commission and IUCN, NBSs encompass a range of green and blue infrastructure initiatives aimed at enhancing resilience, promoting biodiversity, and improving human well-being.
Yet, animals are largely absent from the mainstream nature-based solutions (NBSs) discourse, which remains plant-focused, in spite of growing evidence of the benefits of human–animal interactions. Wild animals, increasingly present in cities due to habitat loss and food availability, offer opportunities for biodiversity and environmental education but may also pose health and safety concerns. Food-producing animals are re-emerging in urban contexts through innovative models like aquaponics and urban farming, offering fresh food and cultural continuity. Companion animals, whose presence in cities is rapidly growing, have well-documented positive effects on public health, social interactions, and support for vulnerable populations.
Despite these contributions, animals are often overlooked in urban planning and policy. The authors argue for a shift from viewing animals as risks or nuisances toward recognizing them as vital actors in building inclusive, healthy, and resilient cities—calling for integrated, proactive strategies that acknowledge the evolving role of human–animal relationships in urban environments.
The IN-HABIT Project
The EU Horizon 2020 IN-HABIT project, involving four European cities (Cordoba, Riga, Lucca, Nitra), seeks to enhance inclusive health and well-being in small and medium-sized cities by leveraging underutilized resources — culture, food, environment, and particularly human–animal relationships.
In Lucca, Italy, the project aims to develop Europe’s first human–animal smart city, focusing on integrating animal-based nature-based solutions (animal NBSs) into urban life. It treats animals not as isolated private concerns but as public resources capable of contributing to community health, social inclusion, and economic vibrancy.
Initiatives
Through a highly participatory process, the project engages local stakeholders — municipality staff, NGOs, businesses, and citizens — to co-design and implement both infrastructural (“hard”) and social/policy-based (“soft”) interventions. A flagship initiative, the “Animal Lines”, connects urban and peri-urban areas with accessible paths and “relational areas” designed to foster interactions between people and animals, especially companion animals, promoting social inclusion, particularly for vulnerable groups.
Additional efforts include:
- Educational activities in schools and the creation of an animal-themed card game and app to engage youth and tourists.
- Innovative social services, such as animal-assisted interventions in nursing homes and support systems for temporarily incapacitated pet owners.
- Policy integration across sectors including tourism, transport, public health, and environment to support human–animal well-being.
- Development of a municipal strategy and action plan to formalize animal-inclusive policies.
Despite political shifts and institutional complexity, IN-HABIT emphasizes deep, collaborative learning and system change, aiming to demonstrate how animals can be publicly mobilized as co-creators of urban well-being. The project ultimately aspires to produce a scalable, replicable model of animal NBSs that other cities can adopt.
Conclusion
The growing presence of animals in urban areas reflects a shift in societal values, marked by deeper human–animal bonds and the emergence of the “pet economy,” which now significantly shapes Western markets. This increase isn’t merely a private phenomenon — it holds vast potential for public innovation. Companion, wild, and food-producing animals are becoming more integrated into city life, yet public policies and urban planning have not fully recognized their transformative potential.
Animal-based NBSs are dual in nature — they both enhance human life and demand a recognition of animals’ own rights and citizenship in urban spaces. This approach necessitates a profound social innovation process, one that rethinks how cities value animals, how spaces are shared, and how public policies are designed. The IN-HABIT project demonstrates how this shift can be practically and inclusively undertaken, offering a template for other cities to follow.
Miscellaneous
Data From Study:
–
Year of Publication:
2024
External Link:
Granai G, Borrelli C, Mariti C, Di Iacovo F. Animals and Cities: A Reflection on Their Potential in Innovating Nature-Based Solutions. Animals. 2024; 14(5):680. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14050680