(Re)wilding London: Fabric, politics, and aesthetics

Abstract Rewilding has become established as a new mode of nature conservation. There is a growing body of science, ambitious landscape‐scale plans, and increasing political will. But until recently, cities and the urban were neglected; the idea of urban rewilding seen as oxymoronic. Of late, however, there has been a shift, with growing enthusiasm amongst metropolitan authorities, civil society, and citizens in major cities like London, New York, Toronto, and Melbourne, as well as smaller cities around the world. Noting a dearth of research on urban rewilding, this paper proffers an agenda for future geographical research into this emerging mode of urban nature conservation. The paper deploys the spatial‐optical metaphor of diffraction, which originates in feminist science studies, to explore how rewilding as a socioecological practice developed in rural areas is changed when it encounters the urban, drawing on recent work in urban theory to trace how the urban might inform a new model of rewilding better equipped for the novel ecosystems and political configurations of the increasingly urban Anthropocene. It begins by defining how the sociomaterial urban fabric diffracts rewilding's practices and principles. It then examines how the distinct political economy of cities shapes the power dynamics of urban rewilding. The aesthetic dimensions of urban rewilding are then highlighted as important factors shaping how this emerging mode of urban nature recovery unfolds. In conclusion, we note how the nascency of urban rewilding presents opportunities for geographers to prefigure a progressive mode of Anthropocene conservation, and we advocate an affirmative style of critique that allies with practitioners and policy‐makers. We establish future priorities for research into urban rewilding, including exploring minoritarian cultures of nature, comparative analysis of diverse cases, and examination of rural–urban linkages.