Repairing Health and Well-Being in Both More-Than-Human and Human Ecosystems: A Multi-Species Paradigm in Singapore and Medellin

The growing interest in repairing the broken relationships between urban environments and nature has brought scrutiny to the old dominative paradigms often embedded in urban agendas. Multi-species approaches offer transformative frameworks to reimagine healthy urban ecosystems beyond the human-centric narratives, emphasising the interdependence between human and more-than-human life. However, the practical implementation of such frameworks is not without its challenges, particularly within the constraints of Nature-based solutions, which often prioritise human benefits. This study adopts a comparative lens to analyse the potential of multi-species agendas in two distinct urban contexts: Singapore and Medellin. Singapore, renowned for its “City in Nature” vision, exemplifies a high-tech approach by integrating biodiversity into buildings and infrastructure. Meanwhile, Medellin has gained international recognition for its socially and inclusive urban greening initiatives, blending ecological restoration with community development. Despite their differences, both cities demonstrate efforts to enhance environmental integrity. Yet, these strategies fall short of dismantling entrenched dominative relationships with nature. Based on field observations and qualitative and quantitative analyses in both contexts, this paper presents a conceptual framework for fostering symbiotic urbanism. This approach seeks to cultivate mutualistic relationships between humans and more-than-human agents by shifting away from control-based models towards methods that repair and enhance both ecological health and human well-being.