‘Bioplanning’ urban proposal launched
Supernature Labs, with backing from Gensler, ecologists and Goldman Sachs, unveiled a 'Bioplanning' approach that uses nature‑first design ideas—like air‑filtering streets and biodiversity measures—aimed for COP30 presentation. The release frames nature‑integrated urban design as a packaged concept for policy and planning forums. (x.com) (x.com)
A group led by Supernature Labs has launched “Bioplanning,” a city-design proposal that packages nature-first planning for governments, developers and policy forums. (supernaturelabs.com) The proposal was unveiled during New York Climate Week at an event on September 21, 2025, at Mercer Labs in New York City, according to Supernature Labs’ event film and a Climate Week listing. The organizers named the Bioplanning Institute, Supernature Labs and the PVBLIC Foundation, and listed participants including Goldman Sachs sustainability banker John Eleoterio. (youtube.com) (climateweeknyc.org) Bioplanning starts from a simple premise: cities should be laid out more like living systems than traffic grids. The Bioplanning Institute says that means “cellular” neighborhood layouts, central green space, building forms adjusted to sun and terrain, and separate pedestrian and vehicle paths. (bioplanninginstitute.org) The group says its model reserves 27 percent of a community’s coverage for natural area without lowering density, and ties that to higher biodiversity, cleaner air and lower carbon emissions. It also says the layout is meant to adapt to climate zone, terrain, wind flow, sea-level rise and local culture. (bioplanninginstitute.org) The pitch arrives as international climate and biodiversity talks have pushed cities to add more nature into urban plans. The Convention on Biological Diversity’s Target 12 calls for more biodiversity-inclusive urban planning and tracks the share of built-up city land that is green or blue space for public use. (cbd.int) It also lands after the United Nations climate conference known as Conference of the Parties 30, or COP30, which opened in Belém, Brazil, on November 10, 2025. Supernature Labs’ film described Bioplanning and its “LIFE Standard” as material intended for that policy moment. (unfccc.int) (youtube.com) The underlying problem is not new: the United Nations Environment Programme says cities occupy 2 percent of Earth’s land surface but consume more than 75 percent of natural resources. The same agency says urban areas are responsible for about 70 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. (unep.org 1) (unep.org 2) Mainstream climate science also supports some of the mechanisms Bioplanning emphasizes, even if not the brand itself. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says green and blue infrastructure can reduce urban heat, cut stormwater runoff, improve air quality and support mental and physical health. (ipcc.ch) What is new here is the attempt to turn those ideas into a named planning framework with institutional partners. Supernature Labs’ October 2025 film said the launch included a “global coalition” and the release of “Bioplanning V01,” which it described as a “living playbook for the future of cities.” (youtube.com) The backers span design, finance and environmental consulting, but the public material is still light on adoption, cost and governance details. The Bioplanning Institute says it works through a nonprofit-corporate partnership with Supernature Labs and collaborates with experts in planning, environmental assessment, design and bio-economic development. (bioplanninginstitute.org) For now, Bioplanning is less a zoning code than a packaged pitch for how cities should grow. Its next test is whether any municipality, developer or multilateral forum turns the concept from launch materials into an actual plan. (supernaturelabs.com) (bioplanninginstitute.org)
