Our cities and backyards need to be transformed to integrate nature and not be detrimental to it. Tim Beatley is a professor of architecture and an urban planner, who firmly believes that urban (and even suburban) areas, when designed correctly can restore habitat and have a positive effect on birds and nature in general. His well-written and immensely practical book entitled The Bird-Friendly City: Creating Safe Urban Habitats is a must read for anyone wondering how to make their backyards, neighborhoods and cities safer and more welcoming to birds. The major issues that kill billions of birds each year – glass, cats and habitat loss are all addressed here with creative ideas and ways of looking at our urban and suburban areas as positive additions to our environment. Beatley has also created a growing network of biophilic cities around the world – cities that integrate nature into their design and planning. This book empowers us to make the right choices for our own properties to make them more bird and nature-friendly, and suggests ways to influence decision-makers to adopt a view of integrating architecture into nature, rather than replacing it.
For an overview of what bird-friendly communities look like, check out this fascinating webinar with the author hosted by Audubon New York.