In the United States, nearly 1 in 10 children are affected with asthma, a condition with rates significantly higher in urban areas of the country. However, in a community just outside Atlanta with a population of more than 300 children, not a single case of the condition has been reported. This is by design. Most cities and neighborhoods across the country are not designed with human biology in mind, an oversight that contributes to the growing prevalence of cardiovascular disease and mental health challenges. Are we treating chronic conditions as purely medical, when they may actually be symptoms of poor design?
For millions of years, humans have evolved in natural environments with daily exposure to sunlight, seasonal rhythms, and constant contact with living systems. Yet modern urban planning systematically removes these essential elements from daily experiences. Cities are designed against the basic needs of human biology.
Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar, the Smith and Lucille Gibson Professor of Medicine and a Distinguished University Scholar, researches how human genetics change expression throughout the day according to the surrounding environment. Urban environments often eliminate any connection to natural cycles. For example, cities flood us with artificial light that confuses natural circadian rhythms. Fundamental functions such as blood pressure is affected by our distance from the equator—a geographic relationship that urban design typically ignores entirely.
Most cities bury their water systems underground, eliminating our connection to the water cycles that sustained predecessors. Urban regions prioritize cars over pedestrians, creating environments that discourage the movement our bodies require. They minimize green space, treating nature as a luxury amenity rather than essential infrastructure for human health. The result is environments that work against our biology rather than with it. Despite advances in medicine, many diseases continue to persist. A focus on symptom treatment can obscure the deeper influence of built environments on long-term health outcomes.
Biophilic Cities
Biophilic cities represent an alternative approach to urban planning that honors humans' evolutionary connection to nature. Rather than treating natural systems as obstacles to development or nice-to-have additions, biophilic cities understand that natural systems are essential infrastructure for human health and well-being.
Biophilic cities work with human biology instead of against it. They ensure that contact with nature becomes an unavoidable part of daily life rather than an amenity residents need to seek out. The man-made ecosystems integrate food production, as a recognition of the need to connect with seasonal cycles and understand the sources of human sustenance. They prioritize pedestrian movement and design spaces that encourage the social interaction that biology demands.
Biophilic design reveals that urban density and human health are not mutually exclusive—both are achievable when cities are designed in harmony with the biological systems that have sustained human life for millennia. Two U.S. communities offer practical examples, using different methods to arrive at shared insights into the factors the support wellbeing.
Serenbe: Building for Biology from Scratch
Serenbe represents the ground-up approach to biophilic design. Founded in 2004 by Steve and Marie Nygren outside Atlanta, the community was conceived from the start to support human biological needs rather than work against them.
The design follows a crucial 70/30 rule: 70% of all land remains permanently protected from development, while only 30% is developed with minimal environmental intrusion. The decision ensures that residents can step out their doors directly into forests full of trails, maintaining constant contact with natural systems.
"Whether it's through daily walks in the community feeling the wind on your skin or sitting on your front porch hearing the many birds calling to each other - all of your senses are engaged by nature. We need nature in our lives today more than ever - a place to grow and restore; a place to foster deep connections and connect with living systems", Nygren tells ArchDaily.
The neighborhoods, called "hamlets," are designed using forms that cluster buildings while minimizing land disturbance. Serene combines aesthetic appeal with biological intelligence. Residents can walk 15 miles of trails that wind throughout the community, ensuring that movement and nature contact become integrated into daily routines.
All homes are geothermal, solar, and net-zero, creating indoor environments that work with natural energy systems. The community includes 80% edible landscaping in one hamlet and a full medicinal garden in another, embedding residents into the local food and plant ecosystems. Even waste systems are designed biologically, with underground infrastructure and an on-site natural sand filter wastewater treatment facility.
The health outcomes speak for themselves. Beyond the remarkable zero-asthma statistic among children, residents report reduced joint pain, more balanced lifestyles, and improved overall health. The community's structure has also created measurable increases in social cohesion through intentional design—porches placed close to sidewalks encourage conversation, centralized post houses create natural gathering points, and mixed-use development brings people together for daily activities.
Austin: Retrofitting a City for Biology
While Serenbe demonstrates building biophilic communities from scratch, Austin, Texas shows how existing cities can be systematically transformed to better support human biology through government-led initiatives. Austin has recognized that the same biological needs Serenbe addresses from the ground up can be met through coordinated municipal action. The city's approach focuses on bringing nature to where people already live, work, and play.
The NeighborWoods program showcases a biology-led initiative to urban transformation. Recognizing that humans need both tree canopy and food security, the program distributes 4,200 shade, ornamental, and fruit/nut trees annually throughout the city. The biological infrastructure addresses multiple human needs simultaneously while creating what officials describe as a "citywide food forest."
Austin's urban forest analysis reveals the remarkable biological value of this approach. The city's 33.8 million trees, covering 30.8% of the urban area, provide essential biological services - storing 1.9 million tons of carbon, removing 92,000 tons of carbon annually, filtering 1,253 tons of air pollution yearly, and reducing residential energy costs by $18.9 million annually. The total compensatory value reaches $16 billion, showcasing how designing for biology can also be economically wise.
Through its CodeNEXT process, Austin is systematically updating city codes to prioritize vegetation, ecosystem function, and human biological needs in all development decisions. A policy approach offers a pathway for cities to institutionalize biophilic principles.
Both Serenbe and Austin demonstrate common principles that any city can adopt to better support human biology. The settlements prioritize pedestrians over cars, understanding that human bodies need movement integrated into daily routines. They "daylight" water systems rather than burying them, reconnecting residents with natural cycles. They incorporate food production, recognizing our biological need to understand and connect with our food sources.
Both models show that working with human biology rather than against it is economically sound. Serenbe's approach creates a self-sustaining community with measurable health benefits, while Austin's investments generate billions in ecosystem value while reducing healthcare and energy costs.
The evidence is clear - current approaches to urban design create a hidden health crisis by working against fundamental human biological needs. Communities like Serenbe and cities like Austin prove that we know how to build environments that support rather than undermine human health. The possibility of biophilic cities is no longer in doubt—these examples demonstrate their feasibility. Implementation ultimately boils down to prioritizing wellbeing over convenience. Our biology hasn't changed, but our cities can.
