Respecting nature’s limits in urban planning: values and principles for human–nature partnerships

Abstract The transgression of planetary boundaries demands that societal and ethical limits to Nature’s availability for human use, impact, and consumption are set, particularly in cities. However, so far, we lack an understanding of how sustainability-aligned values can define such limits and how limits can be operationalized in practice. The objectives of this perspective paper are therefore twofold. First, based on partnership ethics and the sociological concept of Uncontrollability , we identify broad values that feed into the concept of human-nature partnerships that respect limits to making Nature controllable. Second, we translate these broad values into four guiding principles that support urban planning to operationalize human-nature partnerships. Planning for urban human-nature partnerships thereby enables cities to become regenerative, healthy, convivial, and compassionate. Our concept of urban human-nature partnerships provides a heuristic for amplifying Nature’s voice and underscores the importance of relational capacities that enable urban planning to respond attentively.