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Rewilding Is Becoming Real AEC Infrastructure

Rewilding Is Becoming Real AEC Infrastructure

Charlie Cichetti
January 18, 2026

Smart strategies. Sharp stories. Sustainability that sticks.

📬 Intro: Making Space for Nature Again

Some ideas take time to mature.
Others accelerate once conditions change.

Rewilding has crossed that threshold in 2026.

The idea of restoring modern built environment ecosystems to support biodiversity, manage climate risk, and improve quality of life is now shaping real decisions in planning, design, and construction.

Rewilding is emerging as a practical way to reduce heat stress, manage stormwater, strengthen resilience, and create healthier places for people to live and work.

The shift is subtle but significant. Nature is no longer an add-on. It is becoming part of the system.

🌱 Field Notes: Where Rewilding Is Showing Up

🌵 North Texas: Urban Biodiversity Goes Practical
EarthX recently highlighted how rewilding principles are being applied across the Dallas–Fort Worth region. The focus is on native vegetation, reduced turf management, and reconnecting fragmented habitats within developed areas. The lesson is straightforward. Biodiversity gains do not require pristine conditions. They require intentional planning embedded into everyday urban landscapes.

https://earthx.org/video/rewilding-and-urban-biodiversity-new-strategies-for-greening-the-city/

🌳 Derby, UK: Rewilding as Civic Infrastructure
A recent study examining Derby’s urban rewilding initiative found measurable gains in wildlife presence and resident wellbeing. The project reframed rewilded land as essential infrastructure rather than leftover space, demonstrating that ecological restoration can deliver social value alongside climate resilience.

https://phys.org/news/2025-12-highlights-positive-impact-rewilding-people.html

🛠 Engineering With Nature: The U.S. Construction Signal
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has formalized the integration of natural and nature-based features through its “Engineering With Nature” program. Living shorelines, wetlands, and vegetated systems are now being designed to work alongside traditional gray infrastructure. These approaches improve performance, reduce long-term maintenance, and enhance ecological outcomes. When one of the world’s largest infrastructure builders adopts nature-based solutions at scale, the market listens.

Designing With Nature: How Jacobs’ Nature Positive Solutions Shape a Sustainable Future | Jacobs

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🏛 BUILT TO LAST: Why This Matters More Than It Looks

These examples share a pattern.

They treat ecological performance as core infrastructure.
They reduce long-term risk rather than shifting it.
They work with natural systems instead of fighting them.

Rewilding is not about aesthetics. It is about function. Cooling cities. Managing water. Supporting biodiversity. Creating places that perform better under stress.

That is why it is moving upstream into design conversations and downstream into construction contracts.

🧠TL;DR:

Rewilding has moved from aspiration to application.

🧰 Action Step:

Ask one early design question on your next project: where can natural systems replace or reinforce standard engineered ones?

💬 Quote of the Week:

“Nature works best when we stop trying to overpower it.” - Charlie Cichetti

RETROFIT THIS

🔧TOOLS DOWN

This shift is structural.

Design teams are learning when to work with existing conditions.
Builders are learning when nature can carry engineered loads.
Owners are learning that resilience is something you design into place.

Thank you for building with care. We’ll keep spotlighting the work that proves better is possible.

✍️ Brian Bollinger, our Head Writer, helps sustainability pros connect the dots among best-in-class results, resilience and innovation.

🌍️ Charlie Cichetti, our Fearless Leader and LEED Fellow, has guided >150,000 professionals in building careers that adapt—and thrive—through change.

Let’s Green Up together.

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