All over the globe, animals returned to urban areas during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Dolphins returned to the waters surrounding Venice, lions filled roads that would have otherwise been filled with tourists, and mountain goats roamed the streets in Wales. Clearly, humans are limiting the range of wildlife; this shrinking of their ranges can cause serious negative implications on wildlife.
I think city planners should value animal populations more. I envision a world where humans minimize their impact on the ranges and natural behaviours of animals. I also envision a world where communities appreciate that flourishing wildlife populations are indicative of a healthy environment.
Some ideas to realize this future would be to replace roads and cars with underground subway networks, reduce the area that sprawling suburban neighbourhoods take up by replacing them with denser city cores, and prioritize more biodiverse green-spaces throughout cities.
I remember seeing the news articles of dolphins returning to Venice and shedding a tear. We like to think the entire world is ours but it's not. It's so beautiful to see and think about the earth with us living in harmony with the other species
Great ideas Sarah!! I would love to see if/how your ideas to divert transportation could be applied to marine environments too? Maybe enforcing ship routes to leave meaningfully large areas of cetacean migration corridors consistently clear to mitigate boat strikes!
Hi Sarah, I enjoyed reading your post! I remember reading about the return of animals to urban areas during COVID-19 lockdowns. I agree with you this particular example shows how we as humans limit the range of wildlife and that we should prioritize biodiverse green spaces throughout cities!
It is true that during COVID-19, people's activities were reduced, which allowed the environment to be slightly more slowly restored as well. It would be a very harmonious picture if people and animals could coexist. We should try to give living creatures a bigger habitat to live in, instead of destroying and occupying the place where they live.
Hey Sarah, this post was awesome. I love the idea of humans being able to coexist with populations of animals in their cities. This is something I have admired since I was a kid. I remember going to Hawaii and trying to catch the wild chickens that occupy most of the Hawaiian island lol. On a more serious note, this idea of coexisting with animals is very applicable in municipalities such as North Vancouver, where bears tend to roam neighbourhoods looking for food. I wonder if there are any ideas out there that provide framework for safely coexisting with these populations?
Hey Sarah, I love this picture! I also agree that building/leaving more green-spaces in the cities is a way to connect with nature, but there are also animals that live underground, do you think building subway networks can negatively impact some species?
I know of a place where some people saw a mountain for the first time during Covid-19 as air quality improved and visibility improved.
Hi Sarah, this is a great post! In 2020 when UBC first shut down, I also saw coyotes on campus, one even got up close to my mum :)
It is increasingly important to recognize we're coexisting with animals, even in urban communities!
Honestly speaking, I think that COVID-19 really changed the way people think about animals and the world around us. With everyone locked in their homes, the world actually healed to a certain degree, and as you mentioned some animals got to experience their natural habitats once again.
I really liked this post! I found your idea Replacing roads super interesting and smart
Awesome post! I agree that our cities definitely need more green-spaces.
I love your post Sarah! The COVID lockdown does make a lot of people reflect on our co-existence with animals. I love the range of solutions you have. Another piece I will add is the need of ideological changes on the relationship between humans and animals. Nature and social should be discussed as one single connected system, rather than 2 different systems. We as humans have to embrace that we are co-existing with different plants and animals.
Hi Sarah, I agree that we should take more consideration of wildlife populations and find solutions that allow us to co-exist with them.
Hi Sarah, thank you for bringing up the impacts of COVID on the wilderness.
I think your idea of focusing primarily on underground transportation is very unique. What do you think about the feasibility of this option? I would love to hear your thoughts!
I agree that city planners should value and consider the populations of wildlife to ensure co-existence is possible
I think this is an amazing solution! I think it could also really bring a community together if they had a certain animal population that they could look out for in their town/city.