Insects in urban cities

Loss of biodiversity in the world today is an important issue and it is heavily interlinked to the profession of landscape architecture, causing constraints within projects but also providing opportunities for action. The focus of this essay will be looking at the loss of biodiversity- specifically insects and how landscape architects have opportunities for solutions to this.

Biodiversity loss can be defined as a decrease of variability in living organisms, this is caused by a multitude of reasons but one of the major factors leading to these losses of biodiversity is the fragmentation and loss of habitats caused by rapid urbanisation (Hanski, 2005). Due to increasing human population the desire for urban areas has increased, when creating these areas in the past green spaces were not considered in urban planning and the natural existence of these habitats weren’t considered. In an attempt to rectify these past mistakes, there has been a noticeable increase in the implementation of green spaces into old cities and designed into new urban spaces, to work towards biodiversity development (Muhamad Nor et al, 2021). This creates plentiful job opportunities for landscape architects and highlights the importance of their role in creating cohesive urban spaces to improve biodiversity.

One way biodiversity is being improved is through the consideration of insects and the construction of their habitats. This can be achieved through bug hotels; an artificial construction by humans to provide habitat and shelter for insects. (Hane and Korfmacher, 2022) A prime example of the construction of habitats and implementation of bug hotels outside the garden is Insect City in Austria, where they are reimagining the relationship between nature and man, introducing cohabitation with insects. These bug hotels were curated as public art pieces to allow mergence with green space and provide visual interest to the public. Making the concept more appealing creates opportunities to educate and raise awareness on biodiversity loss. Furthermore, it can develop a sense of community to learn about the importance of insects and maintenance of the bug hotels (Juarez, 2021). This project is one of the first of its kind and has the potential to pave the way for bringing about new and creative ways to strengthen biodiversity.

Another project that has taken place, as part of a worldwide movement to reintroduce bees back into nature, is the use of ‘Bee Bricks’ in Brighton. The idea behind the project was to implement a new rule in the planning and constructing of buildings to use bricks containing holes, allowing for ‘solitary bees’ to lay their eggs and increase their population (Fairs, 2022). To make room for urban development, breeding areas for solitary bees are destroyed. Introducing this ‘Bee Brick’ idea created a bridge between the desire to extend urban areas and the increase of biodiversity through the repopulation of bees.

However, this design of brick has been criticized by specialist beekeepers for its potential helpfulness and true usefulness. Due to a lack of research into the reliability of the ‘Bee Bricks’ as well as the specific requirements that bee species need to repopulate, it is difficult to determine whether ‘Bee Bricks’ are a viable option for reintroducing bees or if it is more prosperous to stick to rewilding green spaces (Fairs, 2022).

In conclusion, there has been a needed rise in biodiversity through the development of urbanization, which has placed the role of Landscape Architects into the forefront of urban development to cultivate green spaces for urban and natural cohesion. Key examples of this can be seen in the introduction of modernised bug hotels and innovate ‘Bee Brick’ concepts. Although the most effective method would be to introduce rewilding to natural spaces, these ideologies are a first step into increasing biodiversity in unison with urban development.