Biophilia in urban design: patterns and principles for smart Australian cities

In the three decades or more since EO Wilson’s Biophilia (1984) hypothesis was introduced to the scientific lexicon it has become widely accepted as a powerful way of understanding and examining the bond that humans have with other species and living systems, which Wilson suggests is fundamentally instinctive. The hypothesis has been advanced and incorporated in the concept of Biophilic Design promoted by Kellert et al (2008) and further interpreted and celebrated by Newman (2012) and others, particularly Beatley in Biophilic Cities (2010). Biophilic design has been codified for commercial and professional acceptance, notably by Terrapin Bright Green LLC (Browning et al 2014) with 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design (2014), and there is increasing applied exploration and acceptance of the hypothesis in Australian planning and design applications. This paper considers the position and adoption of biophilic urban design in Australia, identifies biophilic patterns and principles found in extant and proposed examples of Australian urban design, with reference to relevant international case studies, and explores the relevance of those patterns and principles to the development of smart cities.