Giving space back to nature in cities? A multi‐scenario analysis of the acceptability of urban rewilding among local communities

Abstract ‘Urban rewilding’ is a novel approach to renaturing cities that promotes the development of self‐sustaining and resilient urban ecosystems by giving nature more space to self‐develop. While increasingly embraced in cities across the globe, there are still significant uncertainties about the acceptability of urban rewilding initiatives among local communities and their implications for environmental justice. Drawing on data obtained through a questionnaire survey completed by 800 residents based in Vienna, Austria, this study conducts a multi‐scenario analysis to examine the acceptability of urban rewilding among local communities and its sensitivity to variations in the implemented rewilding strategies and socio‐spatial contexts. The scenarios consider different sites of intervention (vacant lands and park lawns), rewilding pathways (transitions towards ‘urban forests’, ‘urban wastelands’ or ‘urban wildflower meadows’) and neighbourhood contexts. The survey responses reveal high levels of acceptability across all scenarios, especially regarding transitions towards ‘urban forests’ and ‘urban wildflower meadows’. Acceptability of urban rewilding varies significantly depending on the respondents' frequency and patterns of use of existing wild spaces, age and perceived level of neighbourhood deprivation. In particular, adolescents and young adults, non‐users and people living in deprived areas exhibit significantly lower levels of acceptability. The findings suggest that urban rewilding presents a viable approach to renaturing cities that is likely to meet high levels of support among local communities. However, providing varied opportunities for local residents to experience wild spaces is a key enabler for new rewilding initiatives. Rather than removing people from nature, urban rewilding should therefore be implemented as a ‘people with nature’ strategy, in which management practices are given way to other forms of human‐nature interaction. While initiatives to rewild urban spaces are likely to meet high levels of public support, urban rewilding needs to be adapted to socio‐spatial contexts to address the specific concerns and expectations of local communities. Establishing participatory processes that facilitate the co‐design and implementation of context‐sensitive rewilding strategies will thus be crucial to ensure that urban rewilding does not exacerbate environmental injustices in cities. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.