How the Biophilic Design Social Movement Informs Planning and Policy

Abstract

A new social movement called biophilic design has emerged over recent decades to enable greater connection between nature and urban populations. Understanding the origins of this social movement can inform further progression, implementation and planning of biophilic design. This chapter’s research methodology of immersion and heuristic inquiry within the social movement recognises that there are three stages of a social movement. In each stage, there are particular motivators and drivers that provide impetus to the movement as revealed in interviews with the pioneers of biophilic design. These are translated into a framework of ten actions for mainstreaming implementation of biophilic design attributes in urban environments.