With nearly half the world’s population now living in cities, the relationship between people and the rest of nature is rapidly changing its character. When most people lived in close everyday contact with nature, alienation was not really an issue. But people living in cities often act as if natural resources come from a store rather than from nature.

Increasing urbanization is very much a double-edged sword for those concerned with conserving natural habitats, including through the mechanism of protected areas. On one hand, removing people from close contact with nature arguably reduces human pressure on natural habitats; the forests of New York State, only a short drive from Manhattan, are a good example. But on the other hand, this alienation also involves higher levels of material consumption, which increases pressure on natural habitats.

Urbanization also has significant psychological and cultural elements. For example, for people living in cities, nature may be reduced to a tourist destination, with protected areas being places one visits on weekends or vacations, often with special equipment. However we might lament this separation of people from nature, we also need to recognize its reality and find ways to turn this alienation into support for protected areas. As many papers in this volume point out, people living in cities are especially likely to call on protected areas to provide psychological well-being, finding a week in the wilderness of a national park to be an invigorating and life-sustaining respite from the pressures of living in crowded and impersonal cities.

It may seem strange to have a book coming out of a World Parks Congress on “The Urban Imperative.” Yet many lines of evidence suggest that greater attention to people living in cities is both an essential element for protected areas and a wise investment for conservation organizations.

The workshop put together by Ted Trzyna at the Durban 2003 World Parks Congress was part of a continuing effort to build a bridge between people living in cities and the natural environments contained within protected areas. The book that has resulted from the workshop makes some fundamentally important points: first, that protected areas provide significant benefits to cities, including water supplies, recreation, and various economic and other values; second, protected areas also depend on cities, for political support, a source of visitors, and ensuring a cultural link between urban people and their environment. 

But perhaps more important, the book also provides some excellent advice on how this mutual dependency can be converted into both more effectively managed protected areas and stronger support from cities. Examples from many parts of the world demonstrate that protected areas can be located within cities and around them, thereby providing increased opportunities for urban people to relate to nature, or at least elements of nature.  The benefits of doing so are so apparent that numerous strong partnerships have been formed with city dwellers to support protected areas. And in many parts of the world that are becoming increasingly urbanized, the importance of protected areas in city planning is becoming increasingly apparent.

The challenge before all of us now is to convert the experience gained to date into a significant global program that further strengthens the relationship between urban people and protected areas. Such a partnership is not only important; it may be essential to the well-being of urban peoples, and the protected areas upon which their welfare depends.