Contested natures in the city: rewilding, othering and more-than-human perspectives

The unintentional rewilding of wastelands serves as a breeding ground for conflict among urban actors, turning these spaces into battlegrounds over the very meaning of nature, for whom it exists, and whether it belongs in a city. This article examines how the concepts of nature and the city are deployed in the struggle to preserve urban nature, highlighting how acts of “othering” and more-than-human perspectives manifest themselves in environmental conflicts in Brussels and Milan. Empirical evidence is gathered using a mixed-method approach that combines ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and document analysis. Our findings indicate that acts of othering take place through land zoning practices, the use of scientific terminology, dividing the urban from the rural, and wilderness beautification. However, the discussion also shows that sensorial values and experiences contribute to the perspective of humans being part of nature in processes of care and mutual influence, challenging modernist human-centrism in planning. Both findings reveal how environmental conflicts in cities perpetuate dualistic notions of nature while also envisioning a future where ecological relationships transcend human-centric perspectives. Recognizing this simultaneous process may inform more inclusive and ethical more-than-human relationships, prompting a reconsideration of wastelands by validating and integrating overlooked nature within urban development.