Naturopolis

On the eve of receiving the two biggest sporting events in the world, the Olympic Games in 2016 and the World Cup in 2014, Rio faces a dilemma. Front side, Rio, the most beautiful city in the world, with its bay, the mountains and the largest urban forest in the world. Flip side, once you scratch beneath the mask, it’s a nightmare, with its slums without sanitation, pollution exponential population of 11 million, 5 million cars. Who will win? Rio Rio de paradise or hell ?

Since 2009, the majority of humanity lives in cities. This fundamental change has an impact not only on the way of life, but also on the place of nature in urban areas. Through exploration of four key cities – New York, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Paris – « Naturopolis » tries to understand how the mega-cities of today are striving to integrate nature and wildlife in the urban contemporary life and what are the transformations of cities for sustainable and green future. Through meetings with various stakeholders of these mutations- planners, naturalists, historians, scientists, architects, landscape architects, artists, activists … – « Naturopolis » will not only interrogate the place of nature in the history of cities since their creation, but also will analyze scientific thinking that leads today; before turning to solutions offered for the future to find a sustainable balance between nature and urban life.

No capital has stirred as many ideas, none as reflected on the role of nature, nowhere is the debate architects, scientists, and political landscape of the « Green City » is as intense as Paris … As for civil society in Paris, it is simply keen on these questions of nature, now ready to do battle as soon as you touch the lower crust of green space … Production therefore of a permanent speech, often brilliant on the nature, true to the French tradition, but, concretely, of a city overfull and without any free space. What happens really ?

A huge ribbon between urban and mountain Pacific, 35 million habitants … welcome to Tokyo, « Kingdom of dragonflies. » For 10 years, Tokyo started listening to his nature, to try to save from disasters that is knocking at his door, to transform, or simply survive … On the paper the « Great Green Plan for Tokyo » is ready, everything seems simple and yes, the Japanese want the challenge: transforming their mineral monster into a « first green city and virtuous in the world. » On the ground, however, everything is complicated, fascinating, Japanese…