Rewilding our cities: How urban nature restoration is reshaping the future of urban life – and business

As climate extremes, ecological degradation and widening social inequities collide, cities worldwide seek solutions. Many are now turning to the powerful yet overlooked resolve of reintroducing nature into the built environment.

This movement – urban restoration – is more than a sustainability trend. It’s becoming a blueprint for resilient, inclusive and economically vibrant cities.

San Francisco, known for its innovation and progressive policies, is driving urban biodiversity, restored wetlands and expansive tree-planting initiatives to transform neighbourhoods and city planning.

In Durban, South Africa, nature-based flood defences are saving lives and infrastructure. And in Tucson, Arizona, nature is cooling streets and enhancing public health. These are not isolated projects but part of a growing paradigm shift where restoring nature is a strategic urban decision.

Urban nature restoration refers to bringing native ecosystems, biodiversity and green infrastructure back into city landscapes to enhance environmental resilience, social wellbeing and economic vitality.

It includes planting street trees, revitalizing wetlands and creeks, creating green roofs and corridors, and protecting existing ecological assets.

Urban nature’s benefits are well-documented and far-reaching. Urban forests can help cool cities in certain regions by up to 21.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Green spaces can absorb stormwater, reducing the risks of extreme heat and flooding.

Trees improve air quality by removing pollutants, supporting mental health and creating more liveable neighbourhoods. Biodiverse environments foster pollinators and bolster food security, while access to nature is consistently linked to lower stress levels and better wellbeing, particularly in underserved communities.

The economic case is just as compelling. Urban forests in the United States generate an estimated $5.4 billion annually in air pollution removal and another $5.4 billion in energy savings.

Green infrastructure raises property values, creates local jobs and lowers public infrastructure costs. These returns underscore the need to integrate green space into urban planning to support climate adaptation and mitigation and help cities thrive and remain competitive.

Equitable long-term stewardship of these green assets is essential for building lasting urban resilience.

As over 70% of the world’s cities already experience the effects of climate change and urban areas are projected to house nearly 70% of the global population by 2050, the urgency for urban nature restoration is clear.

The tradeoff of urban expansion is stark: for every square kilometre developed, nearly half a square kilometre of natural habitat disappears. By 2050, this could total a loss of 150,000 square kilometres of forests, grasslands and wetlands – an area larger than Nepal.

No city can tackle this challenge alone. That’s where the private sector plays a critical role.

For companies, urban restoration supports core business priorities. Sustainability targets, climate risk mitigation, employee engagement and community investment are all drivers.

Forward-thinking companies increasingly recognize nature as a strategic asset to ensure a thriving urban environment that helps future-proof operations, strengthens local resilience and unlocks long-term economic and social value.

As part of its global nature and climate strategy, Salesforce invests in visible local nature-based interventions to support biodiversity and climate resilience in its cities.

In San Francisco, the company partnered with the city and local organizations to support urban greening efforts, including tree planting and restoring India Basin – a historically underserved waterfront area.

The project is transforming a former industrial site into a resilient, biodiverse park and improving public access to nature while supporting climate adaptation through wetland restoration.

Salesforce participated in volunteer events, planting trees and contributing to on-the-ground improvements in stormwater management, air quality and improving the liveability of neighbourhoods – demonstrating how companies can embed climate resilience and biodiversity into their operations while strengthening community ties and reinforcing their social license to operate.

Through its Priceless Planet Coalition, Mastercard has pledged to fund the restoration of 100 million trees by 2030, including urban reforestation in communities most exposed to heat and pollution.

The initiative aims to expand tree cover in historically underserved neighbourhoods by funding local projects.

In pilot cities, the early impact is promising: canopy expansion is improving thermal comfort and encouraging community engagement. This highlights how corporate climate action advances environmental justice – when restoration is guided by local needs and priorities.

MetLife has committed to growing 5 million trees worldwide, prioritizing areas vulnerable to natural disasters, including hurricanes, floods and wildfires.

Progress against this commitment is being made through programmes focused on distributing trees to homeowners in communities impacted by disaster, employee volunteer tree growing projects worldwide and more.

In Dhaka, Bangladesh, MetLife and the Shakti Foundation provided funding to enable over 17,000 trees planted to improve air quality and transform abandoned land into green, child-friendly public spaces.

To help improve the quality of the water supply to the Greater Sau Paulo area, MetLife partnered with the Ipe Institute to plant 5,000 seedlings. These urban forestry projects highlight the critical role of partnerships between businesses and cities to protect and enhance livelihoods through nature.

Salesforce, Mastercard and MetLife are among the leading companies that made formal pledges to 1t.org, the World Economic Forum’s initiative to conserve, restore, and grow one trillion trees by 2030 – each committing to support conservation, restoration and urban greening projects.

The Forum’s Centre for Urban Transformation, with 1t.org, is helping cities and companies unlock the power of nature through shared frameworks, tools and commitments.

In San Francisco, collaboration with the city led to the city’s pledge to plant 30,000 new street trees and maximize biodiverse green spaces, empowering local communities to become stewards of nature. The city has updated its Climate Action Plan to strengthen nature-based solutions and implement reporting metrics marking a significant step in its nature-positive transition.

A new report, Nature Positive: Cities’ Efforts to Advance the Transition – San Francisco, highlights local challenges, exemplary solutions, and strategies for embedding nature-based solutions into city planning and development.

The report highlights projects such as the Alameda Watershed restoration, the Treasure Island redevelopment and India Basin’s revitalization demonstrate how public-private partnerships can deliver measurable environmental and social gains.

In Tucson, the city, together with corporations, is investing in desert rewilding to reduce heat exposure and support cultural heritage.

These efforts support the city’s pledge to plant one million trees by 2030, which includes restoring native Sonoran vegetation, creating shaded public spaces and integrating traditional ecological knowledge from Indigenous communities.

The city is tackling extreme heat and honouring the deep cultural connections between local communities and the desert landscape by reviving arid ecosystems. This integrated approach to ecological restoration and cultural preservation exemplifies the kind of resilient, adaptive urban development championed by the Davos Baukultur Alliance.

Urban nature restoration offers a powerful and practical entry point to reimagine cities as ecological and economic resilience engines.

It’s also one of the most effective ways to bring together diverse stakeholders – governments, businesses, communities and civil society – around a shared vision for a nature-forward future.

To scale what works, several actions are essential:

That last factor is perhaps most critical, requiring a renewed perspective that views cities not as places where nature must be contained but where it can flourish and in turn, help people and businesses flourish too.

The private sector has a unique role to play in this transformation. By contributing innovation, specialized expertise and resources, companies can help scale urban restoration efforts more quickly and effectively.

Aligning corporate climate and biodiversity commitments with local priorities such as reducing heat, increasing tree cover or restoring wetlands – can bridge the gap between business goals and community needs, delivering meaningful, place-based impact.

Public-private partnerships are a key part of this equation. They allow local governments to share financial risk, access new funding streams and ensure that nature-based projects are designed for long-term sustainability.

New investment models that distribute risk and return can help make urban nature restoration more than a climate imperative but a business opportunity too.

Ultimately, the opportunity is not just to green our cities but to make them more equitable, resilient and inclusive by embedding nature into the fabric of everyday life.

As Earth Day approaches, let’s reimagine what our cities can be and recognize that the path to thriving urban futures begins with restoring what we’ve long neglected: our connection to nature.