Nature in the City Annual Event 2025

On 10–11 December 2025, the Urban School of Sciences Po hosted its second annual conference as part of the Nature in the City project, funded by the Gerard B. Lambert Foundation and led by Francesca Ferlicca, Rachel L. Mellon Post-doctoral Fellow at the Urban School. 

This year’s edition focused on the theme “Urban Nature at the Margins: Contested Climate Adaptation Governance in Urban Informality,” bringing together over 40 leading scholars and practitioners from Europe, Africa, Latin America, and North America. Across five panel sessions, researchers presented their recent work, followed by engaging discussions. To further enrich the academic exchanges, the conference programme also included an art exhibition curated by La Maison des Arts et de la Création, as well as a site visit to a regeneration project in Porte de Batignolles, hosted by the Ville de Paris.

The final roundtable “From Research to Action - Translating Urban Nature Knowledge into Equitable Climate Policy” focused on how knowledge of urban nature can be translated into equitable climate policy. Participants introduced a self-critical perspective, acknowledging that numerous barriers still prevent affected communities from gaining agency and visibility within research on urban nature and informality.

By bridging research, practice, and artistic perspectives, the conference highlighted the urgent need to rethink urban nature governance from the margins, centring informality, justice, and lived experience as essential components of equitable climate adaptation.

Read the full review written by Ebou Ceesa, Conference Assistant for Nature in the City and student at the Urban School (in English).