Urban Living Library Transforms Fragmented City Spaces for Hedgehogs

Urban Living Library – Reclaiming the Hedgehog Habitat, designed by Fengyi Wu, explores how landscape architecture can support biodiversity while creating meaningful spaces for people in the contemporary city. Developed as a design research project, it takes the hedgehog as a flagship species to investigate how fragmented urban habitats can be reconnected through landscape interventions. The proposal outlines an interconnected network of habitats, ecological corridors, gardens, and outdoor learning spaces, transforming underused urban landscapes into environments that support both wildlife and everyday public life.

Rather than separating ecological infrastructure from human activity, the proposal brings the two together through strategic planting, water management, shelter, and carefully designed public spaces. Designer Fengyi Wu follows a landscape strategy that combines habitat creation with opportunities for observation, learning, and community interaction. Dense planting, wildlife shelters, rainwater landscapes, and sheltered gathering spaces create a sequence of environments that allow people to experience urban nature while providing resources for wildlife.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

At its core, the project asks how cities can move beyond simply accommodating biodiversity towards actively designing for coexistence. The hedgehog becomes a lens through which broader questions of ecological connectivity, habitat loss, and public engagement can be addressed, proposing landscape architecture as a tool for building more biodiverse and resilient urban environments.

Source: designboom