Is Urban Rewilding Taking Root? Exploring Local Authorities’ Perspectives on Challenges and Opportunities in the United Kingdom

Russo, Alessio, Goodenough, Alice ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0862-2894, Sheppard, Adam, Cirella, Giuseppe T, Escobedo, Francisco J., Harrington, Kevin, Rupprecht, Christoph D.D. and Sardeshpande, Mallika (2026) Is Urban Rewilding Taking Root? Exploring Local Authorities’ Perspectives on Challenges and Opportunities in the United Kingdom. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening. p. 129713. doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2026.129713 (In Press)

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Abstract

Globally, urban rewilding is emerging as a promising strategy to address biodiversity loss and climate change impacts by reintegrating nature into cities and supporting more sustainable urban development. Despite growing interest, little is known about how urban rewilding is interpreted and operationalised by local governments. This sequential mixed-methods study uses a focus group with local-authority professionals from the United Kingdom to inform an online survey distributed nationally, exploring how the concept is understood, the opportunities it presents and the barriers to its implementation. Respondents identified urban rewilding as an opportunity to enhance biodiversity, ecological connectivity and community wellbeing, while also contributing to climate resilience and nature-based solutions. Reported practices suggest growing engagement with approaches associated with urban rewilding, although the term itself was not always used because of conceptual ambiguity and concerns about public acceptance. Implementation was also constrained by limited resources, competing land uses and perceptions of wilder landscapes as untidy or neglected. The findings suggest that urban rewilding is interpreted as a context-dependent and managed approach that provides greater autonomy for ecological processes while accommodating human use and other urban functions. The study identifies context-sensitive implications for planning, green-space management and community engagement and establishes priorities for further research.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Rewilding; Perceptions; Biodiversity loss; Wildlife; Nature-based solutions; Urban green spaces
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GF Human geography. Human ecology. Anthropogeography H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > Countryside and Community Research Institute
Depositing User:	Alice Goodenough
Date Deposited:	29 Sep 2026 15:51
Last Modified:	29 Sep 2026 16:00
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/16555

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