When construction of the Berlin Wall begin in 1961, many wildlife biologists and ecologists in the West were cut off from their fieldwork sites in the East, located primarily in the province of Brandenburg. They were therefore forced to study, and experiment within, the environments and conditions available to them (primarily, rubble-filled cities). Over time, many West Berlin ecologists—and in particular Herbert Sukopp, a professor at the Technical University of Berlin—began to recognize and revere the biological forces operating within urban contexts, particularly in areas recently decimated by the destructive forces of war (notably, the Südgelände railroad, in the district of Schöneberg). Urban ecology took hold of Berlin residents: students attending universities in West Berlin under the tutelage of pioneering figures like Sukopp (as well as the educated, urban middle class, Bildungsbürgertum, and amateur naturalists, Naturfreunde) began to extensively characterize the environmental forces dictating the organic facets of the urban landscape. In most instances, individuals working to characterize these processes also took part in political activities related to development and the landscape, bridging the gap between science, planning, and policy. Acquisition of knowledge translated directly into activism.
Designing with—and for—nature
In the United States, we have yet to undergo a similar renaissance in regard to designing with and for nature, rather than against it. Movements in ecological urbanism (with roots in McHarg’s notion of landscape design as environmentalism) implore systems-type thinking, which advocate designing for air, water, land, and life simultaneously, but tenants of these frameworks haven’t yet gained universal traction. As a result, cities continue to be further developed without the forces of the natural world in mind. Overwhelmingly, this culminates in disaster (like poor air and water quality, increased flooding, and sinking cities).