Scale is a fundamental consideration in architecture and urban design because the impact of design decisions varies depending on the spatial level at which they are made [1]. For biodiversity, working across scales, from the individual site to the neighbourhood, through to the urban (or city) scale and the broader landscape or regional scale, ensures that interventions are both locally appropriate and ecologically connected [2]. Design that is sensitive to scale recognises that small, detailed decisions at a site contribute to larger patterns of ecological health, while urban and regional planning establishes the frameworks within which biodiversity can thrive. By understanding and if possible, designing at multiple, interconnected scales, practitioners can support resilient ecosystems, enable species movement, and embed biodiversity as an integral part of healthy, living cities and landscapes [3]. This guide categorises design for biodiversity strategies into four scales:
- Site scale
- Neighbourhood scale
- Urban scale
- Landscape or regional scale
References:
- Wahl, D. C. (2007). Scale-linking design for systemic health: Sustainable communities and cities in context. International Journal of Ecodynamics, 2(1), 57-72.
- Paloniemi, R., Apostolopoulou, E., Primmer, E., Grodzińska-Jurczak, M., Henle, K., Ring, I., … & Similä, J. (2012). Biodiversity conservation across scales: lessons from a science-policy dialogue. Nature Conservation 2: 7–19 (2012).
- Norton, B. A., Evans, K. L., & Warren, P. H. (2016). Urban biodiversity and landscape ecology: patterns, processes and planning. Current Landscape Ecology Reports, 1(4), 178-192.
Site Scale
The site scale focuses on individual parcels of land, such as building sites, lots, or small public spaces. This is the most granular level of intervention, where detailed design decisions are made about materials, planting, building interfaces, and spatial arrangements. Biodiversity-sensitive design at the site scale includes habitat creation, green infrastructure integration, and careful attention to microclimates, species selection, and soil conditions. While small in scope, site-level decisions collectively shape the ecological fabric of the city.
Neighbourhood Scale
The neighbourhood scale encompasses clusters of buildings, streets, and green spaces within a defined urban area. Often considered the “building blocks” of a city, neighbourhoods offer a strategic scale for integrating land use, transport, and regeneration strategies. Planning and design at this level allows for the coordination of decentralised systems such as water management, energy production, and waste cycles. Biodiversity strategies at the neighbourhood scale may include habitat corridors, connected green spaces, community gardens, water-related nature-based solutions, and participatory stewardship or regeneration initiatives that foster a sense of local care and collective impact.
Urban Scale
The urban scale encompasses the entire city, viewed as an interconnected system of infrastructure, people, land uses, and ecological processes. Working at this level involves addressing broad spatial patterns such as urban form, density, transport networks, and land-use variations. Decisions made here shape where green infrastructure is located, how ecological corridors are maintained or disrupted, and how biodiversity supports city-wide climate adaptation. It is also the level at which policy, governance, and equity goals can be embedded to drive systemic change. Design at the urban scale provides essential context for smaller-scale interventions, informing how individual sites and neighbourhoods fit within larger ecological networks and social frameworks. Site analysis for regenerative design often begins at this scale, helping to identify landscape-scale constraints and opportunities that guide more detailed design. Strategic planning and high-level frameworks established at this scale play a key role in directing biodiversity-sensitive development across the city.
Landscape or Regional Scale
The landscape or regional scale extends beyond the political boundaries of individual cities to consider the ecosystems, watersheds, or bioregions a city is within, or straddles. At this scale, biodiversity planning involves understanding ecological patterns and processes that span multiple jurisdictions, such as species migration, hydrological cycles, and land use change. Beginning design and analysis at the watershed scale, rather than within administrative boundaries, offers a more ecologically accurate view of the systems that shape urban life [1]. In dynamic island contexts like Aotearoa, ki uta ki tai—the understanding of connectedness from mountain to sea, or ridge to reef—provides a vital framework [2]. This approach emphasises the flow of water, energy, and life through landscapes, and the interdependence of upland, lowland, freshwater, and marine systems. Interventions at this scale may include regional green networks, catchment restoration, and cross-boundary conservation strategies [3]. Aligning urban development at smaller scales with first understanding the wider ecological systems they are nested within in this way is essential for long-term biodiversity resilience, cultural integrity, and climate adaptation.
References:
1. Pickett, S. T., Cadenasso, M. L., Grove, J. M., Boone, C. G., Groffman, P. M., Irwin, E., … & Warren, P. (2011). Urban ecological systems: Scientific foundations and a decade of progress. Journal of environmental management, 92(3), 331-362.
2. Lohrer, D., Awatere, S., Paul-Burke, K., Kitson, J., & Schwarz, A.M. (2024). Ki uta ki tai: mātāpono me te pūtaiao, ngā korero whakamahuki ma te kaitiaki-From mountains to the sea: values and science for an informed kaitiaki/guardian. Report for Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge. Bioeconomy Science Institute, New Zealand.
3. Pedersen Zari. M., G.L Kiddle; V. Chanse; S. Bloomfield; A. Latai-Niusulu; M. Abbott; P. Blaschke; S. Mihaere; O. Brockie; M. Grimshaw; A. Platje; K. Varshney; S. Ershadi (2024). NUWAO Nature-based Solutions Design Guide. Auckland: NUWAO. Available online at www.nuwao.org.nz. arren, P. (2011). Urban ecological systems: Scientific foundations and a decade of progress. Journal of environmental management, 92(3), 331-362.