Leaving space for wildness in metropolitan region: Trends and prospects

doi:10.17520/biods.2024481

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims: Leaving space for wildness as a critical initiative for maintaining biodiversity within national territorial space, holds significant importance in supporting the construction of ecologically sustainable and high-quality metropolitan regions. However, current metropolitan planning systems have not sufficiently addressed this issue, and it is particularly crucial to emphasize this aspect in the advancement of the ecological civilization system.

Methods: This study adopts a historical perspective to examine the development of various types of natural ecological spaces in Chinese metropolitan areas over the past 30 years, focusing on both the overall metropolitan region and the urban core. It analyzes the increasingly prominent coexistence pattern between protected areas and built-up areas across metropolitan regions, as well as the evolution in core urban areas from emphasizing the coordinated expansion of green spaces and built-up areas to the focused development of large suburban parks that incorporate ecological conservation zones.

Results: These findings collectively reveal the gradually strengthening trend of natural wilderness preservation in contemporary metropolitan areas. Furthermore, the study explores and envisions metropolitan planning under the framework of the ecological civilization system, addressing aspects such as conceptual adjustments, system development, and mechanism optimization.

Conclusion: It advocates for the exploration of systematic space for wildness within metropolitan planning frameworks, promoting the development of relevant governance tools to support the future emergence of a new metropolitan form characterized by “urban-wilderness coexistence”.

Key words: leaving space for wildness, metropolitan region, biodiversity, human settlements

Lin Yuan, Siqi Wang, Jingxuan Hou. Leaving space for wildness in metropolitan region: Trends and prospects[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2025, 33(5): 24481.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.17520/biods.2024481

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2025/V33/I5/24481

Figures/Tables 10

Fig. 1 Growth in the number and area of metropolitan regions with a population over one million and five types of national protected areas from 1990 to 2019

Fig. 2 Spatial relationship between built-up areas and five types of national protected areas in metropolitan regions from 1990 to 2019

Fig. 3 Growth in the number of five types of national protected areas within the metropolitan regions and their share of the total number of five types of national protected areas in the country from 1990 to 2019

Fig. 4 Changes in the area of five types of national protected areas and their distance from built-up areas in metropolitan regions from 1990 to 2019

Fig. 5 Statistics of five types of national protected areas in the east, central and west regions

Fig. 6 Spatial trends of five types of national protected areas in the eastern, central and western metropolitan regions

Fig. 7 Relationship between built-up area expansion and urban green space ratio growth in provincial capitals/municipalities (2000-2017)

Fig. 8 Relationship between the average built-up area and the average proportion of green spaces in provincial capitals/ municipalities (2000-2017)

Fig. 9 Development of typical large suburban parks since 2018

Fig. 10 Exploration for system of leaving space for wildness in metropolitan regions

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