The Wild Life of American Cities

Maggie Koerth-Baker, writing for the New York Times Magazine:

In the Twin Cities, scientists have found distinct differences between the plants that grow in urban neighborhoods and those that grow in more rural settings. This doesn’t mean that in one place there are lots of potted geraniums and in another there are native tallgrass prairies. Rather, it turns out that what grows wild in the city is very different from what grows wild just a few miles away.

And as Koerth-Baker goes on to point out, that’s not always a bad thing. But it does raise a few questions. Do we understand the changes we’re making? And of those changes we make, which can or should be changed?

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