As urbanization extends its reach into agrarian regions and so-called “nature-protected” areas, the cultural constructs of “urban” and “wilderness”—if they were ever truly distinct—are dissolving, becoming increasingly intertwined.
Alongside this pervasive urbanization and the intensification of agrarian practices, rewilding movements have emerged to address environmental anxieties by reintegrating elements of wilderness into urbanized landscapes. A striking consequence is the growing presence of megafauna—such as leopards, wolves, cougars, and foxes—in human-inhabited agrarian and urban environments where they often subsist on feral lifeforms like dogs.
This contribution focuses on leopards, whose presence is notably increasing in cities across South and Southeast Asia, as well as Africa. Against this backdrop, it examines the emergence of post-conservation strategies in South Asia that seek to navigate human-megafauna coexistence. These strategies reimagine human-megafauna coexistence, aiming to foster mutual survival and well-being within these enmeshed landscapes.
Nitin Bathla (University of Zurich/ETH Zürich) is a scholar and practitioner working at the intersection of urbanization, the environment, and society, bridging the disciplines of urban studies, ecology, geography, and sociology.
Read more about urban leopards and coexistence in nature-urban landscapes – by Nitin Bathla
Part of AHO’s 80th Anniversary
This event is part of AHO’s anniversary programme in 2025. Throughout the autumn, we are marking AHO’s 80 years with public events, exhibitions and lectures in architecture, design, landscape architecture and urbanism.