Thankyou Lawrence for introducing the Eilenriede. It is difficult to say quite what the boundary between a forest and a park might be – particularly when the Eilenriede contains important public art including the turf maze and statute of the Princesses Louise and Fredrica.

City forests (rather than forest cities), according to Cecil C. Konijnendijk are “cultural forest landcapes that are social and cultural constructs, created on at the meeting point of culture and nature, of the human and the non-human. From an experiential perspective they can be both space and place.”

There are a number of urban forest movements in the US. Some are predominantly aligned with conservation and recreation, others with ecological and urban objectives. [ http://vibrantcitiesurbanforests.org/ ]

It is a great idea for cities to own forests. Professional foresters, often castigated at wood butchers, seem no longer able to practice multiple-objective forest management.

This article [ http://www.demographia.com/db-orski.htm ] suggests suburban living is seen as providing the benefits of relative “safety, privacy and tranquility.”

Perhaps by creating environments with the benefits of the suburbs, within our cities, in ‘forest cities’ the detrimental impacts of urban sprawl (gobbling up greenfield sites and wilderness) can be abated.

I do not think it is possible, or desirable, to go back to medieval conditions but, just as one can draw a parallel between walled cities and gated communities, there may be a developing parallel between low-densitiy cities and the ancient pattern of ‘a green sea of forest with scattered brown islands of human habitation’.

Wikipedia, often abreast of trends, has an interesting list of Forest Cities. [I woke up early today and heard the BBC World Service announce that ‘The death of Osama Bin Laden has been published on Wikipedia and will soon be announced by the President of the United States’]

Much ancient wildlife is extinct, and I don’t believe it would be appropriate to re-introduce their smaller existing progeny. [ http://www.wildlifeextra.com.au/go/news/lions-britain009.html#cr ]

And yes, I think that there may be challenges with the re-introduction of brown bears, wolves etc into countries that have eliminated these natural ‘threats’. Perhaps, the Wildlife Park planned in 2006 on the outskirts of Bristol would have been a laboratory for the feasibility of more modern species re-introductions. In the US living with bears and wolves is a contemporary issue. [ http://www.livingwithwolves.org/WWD_LetterFounders.html ]

I don’t think a modern forest city (even one with a connection to semi-wilderness) would copy or recreate medieval living.

What are you referring to when you ask about policing? Changes in surveillance? Different illumination needs for public and private spaces? The re-introduction of highway men? Or Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest?

Yes preferential voting is a good system. However, we also have the option of voting for a single winner (“Just vote 1”). Depending on the political landscape at the time of balloting either voting method might be more appropriate. (ie. Sometimes the primary candidate outcome is more important the parliamentary composition or local representation.)

Not really sure about whether the AV system stops politicans ‘trying to seem cuddly, copying each other and running for cover at the first sign of trouble.’

I am hoping (but not really expecting) that the UK will adopt an Australian-style Alternative Vote AV system next week. Do you think it would help free politicians from party-control, so that they can start discussing issues, like Low Density Cities, which make them behave like rabbits? Rabbits in the sense of trying to seem cuddly, copying each other and running for cover at the first sign of trouble.