Urban biodiversity sounds like a park issue, not a city problem. Your apartment balcony overlooks a crumbling strip mall. Across the street, an abandoned factory lot is overgrown with weeds. You assume it’s an eyesore that needs clearing. What if that vacant space is actually supporting more bird species than the manicured park three blocks away?

Chris Dennison’s research in Detroit found that vacant lots—the ones that look like abandoned eyesores—can support significant bird populations when left to grow naturally. The monitoring method: sound recorders placed on-site, listening for weeks, no expensive field researchers required. Community groups are already transforming these spaces into pollinator gardens and urban agriculture, but even strategic mowing serves a purpose. It signals safety to residents while leaving room for biodiversity around the edges. The tension: what looks “kept” to humans versus what actually supports wildlife.

Discover why small urban spaces—from rooftop gardens to neglected corners—hold more conservation potential than you’d expect. Learn how bioacoustic monitoring works and why it’s changing urban wildlife research. Understand the balance between making spaces feel safe for people while supporting birds, bees, and yes, even ants. Your balcony, your yard, your neighborhood’s vacant lot: Chris argues none of it is too small to matter.

Topics: urban biodiversity, vacant land, post-industrial cities, Detroit conservation, bioacoustic monitoring

GUEST: Chris Dennison

Originally aired on2026-01-28