The Nature of Cities
The Nature of Cities is a donor-supported online publication and global network founded in 2013, publishing essays, exhibitions, podcasts, and comics on urban nature and green cities for practitioners, artists, scientists, and policymakers across 98 countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What The Nature of Cities does
The Nature of Cities (TNOC) is an independent, donor-supported online publication and global network founded in 2013 that publishes essays, roundtables, exhibitions, podcasts, and reviews on urban nature, green cities, and nature-based solutions. It serves a transdisciplinary audience of urban nature practitioners, artists, scientists, policymakers, and academics who contribute to and consume content at the intersection of art, science, and urban ecology. The platform operates a WordPress-based website with claimed reach across 98 countries and is supported by donations, member subscriptions, and partnerships with major institutions including the European Commission, US Forest Service, and The Nature Conservancy.
The organization's product portfolio spans multiple content verticals: TNOC Magazine serves as the core publication; NBS Comics is a nature-based solutions comics project that has reached over one million readers globally; Stories of TNOC publishes flash fiction collections; Sprout Poetry Journal explores urban-nature themes; and The Just City Essays examines urban equity. Events include TNOC Festivals (Berlin 2024, Paris 2019) that blend conference, exhibition, and retreat formats, with The Roots of Cool exhibition running July–October 2025 in partnership with Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles.
The Nature of Cities is structured as a private, independent organization with no disclosed parent company, venture backing, or equity investors. Its revenue model relies on donations, reader contributions, and institutional partner support, with all content distributed free and open-access through its website, email newsletter (TNOC Gazette), and social media channels. The organization operates with a small leadership team headed by Director David Maddox and maintains regional focus through TNOC Europe and a partnership with Network Nature+ for the NbS community.
The Nature of Cities firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Nature of Cities
- Legal name
- The Nature of Cities
- Website
- https://thenatureofcities.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Nature of Cities is a donor-supported online publication and global network founded in 2013, publishing essays, exhibitions, podcasts, and comics on urban nature and green cities for practitioners, artists, scientists, and policymakers across 98 countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Nature of Cities industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Environmental Publishing
- NAICS
- Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums (712110)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Home, Garden & DIY Magazines (MPAJAEAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Local & Neighborhood Communities (BPAMABAG), Sustainable Cities, Urban Development & Green Infrastructure (BPADALAL)
Keywords
Where The Nature of Cities is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Nature of Cities business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Support: The organization operates primarily through donations and support from readers, members, and institutional partners. The website features donation options and a subscribe/join mechanism for supporters.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
The Nature of Cities product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Nature of Cities is a transdisciplinary, donor-supported online publication and knowledge-sharing platform that advances dialogue and ideas on urban nature, green cities, and nature-based solutions. It combines art, science, and practice by publishing essays, opinions, book reviews, comics, poetry, and multimedia contributions from a global network of practitioners, researchers, artists, and policymakers. All content is freely accessible to readers worldwide.
Product overview
The Nature of Cities is a digital publication platform and global network focused on urban nature, operating as a unified magazine with multiple themed content products including essays, roundtables, exhibitions, podcasts, reviews, and festivals. The core TNOC Magazine serves as the main platform, supplemented by specialized products like NBS Comics (nature-based solutions comics reaching over 1 million readers), Stories of TNOC (flash fiction collections), Sprout Poetry Journal, TNOC Festival (annual events), and exhibition projects like The Roots of Cool and Shade in the City. Additional resources include The Just City Essays and Network Nature+ for the NbS community. All products combine art, science, and practice to advance knowledge-driven, imaginative, and just green city making.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- TNOC Magazine: The primary online publication featuring essays, roundtables, and reviews on urban nature topics.
- TNOC Festival
- NBS Comics
- Stories of TNOC
- Sprout Poetry Journal
- The Nature of Graffiti
- The Just City Essays
- TNOC Europe
- Network Nature+
Quantifiable outcome
- Reaches readers in 98 countries
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use The Nature of Cities
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Nature of Cities technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Nature of Cities partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- Descanso GardenscorePartnership with Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles, California for The Roots of Cool exhibition (July 12 to October 12, 2025), a series of meditations on trees and shade from around the world featuring 13 women artists plus the Yarn Bombing Los Angeles collective.
- European CommissioncoreMajor institutional partner providing support for TNOC's work on nature-based solutions and urban nature initiatives.
- Network Nature+coreTNOC is a partner in Network Nature+, a resource platform for the Nature-based Solutions community that creates opportunities for local, regional, and international cooperation to maximize the impact and spread of NbS.
- United States Forest ServicemajorInstitutional partner supporting urban nature research and knowledge sharing.
- The Nature Conservancy (TNC)majorMajor environmental organization partner in TNOC's network of partners supporting urban nature work.
- Office Français de la Biodiversité (French Office for Biodiversity)majorFrench governmental partner supporting biodiversity and urban nature initiatives.
- BiodiversamajorEuropean biodiversity research partnership network collaborating on NbS research and implementation.
- UFS ArtsminorPartner for artistic residencies and arts programming, including the NBS Comics project and curatorial research associate support.
- The J. Max Bond CentermajorCo-producer of The Just City Essays with Next City, examining what a just city looks like and strategies to achieve it.
- Next CitymajorCo-producer of The Just City Essays examining urban justice and equity in city planning.
- Forum for Radical Imagination on Environmental Cultures (FRIEC)coreTNOC hosts the FRIEC forum and collaborated on adapting the Shade in LA exhibition as a virtual exhibition.
- City as NatureminorPartner organization in TNOC's network focused on reimagining cities as natural systems.
- Urban Greenspaces InstituteminorPartner organization supporting urban greening and greenspace research and advocacy.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
The Nature of Cities competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Strong Towns: A nonprofit media organization and movement focused on bottom-up urban development and stronger, more resilient cities. Comparable to TNOC in mission-driven publishing model, contributor network, and audience of urban practitioners and engaged citizens.
- Landscape Architecture Magazine: The flagship publication of the American Society of Landscape Architects, covering landscape architecture, urban design, and green infrastructure. Directly comparable in subject matter to TNOC, though delivered as a traditional B2B trade magazine rather than an open-access community platform.
- Streetsblog: A network of online publications covering urban planning, transportation, and the public realm. Shares TNOC's essay-and-commentary format and urban-focused readership, with overlapping contributor communities among planners and advocates.
- Urban Omnibus: A publication of the Architectural League of New York covering urban design, planning, and the public realm. It mirrors TNOC's essay-driven, multidisciplinary approach to urban topics and shares the audience of architects, planners, and designers.
- Next City: An independent nonprofit publication covering urban equity, planning, and design. It is a direct peer — co-producer of The Just City Essays with TNOC — and serves a comparable audience of practitioners, policymakers, and engaged citizens with essay-style journalism on cities.
- The Dirt (ASLA): The American Society of Landscape Architects' blog covering landscape architecture, urban green infrastructure, and nature-based solutions. Directly comparable to TNOC in subject matter (urban nature, green infrastructure) and audience (landscape architects, planners).
- Anthropocene Magazine: An independent digital publication covering the Anthropocene epoch, environmental science, and sustainability. Comparable to TNOC as a mission-driven, donation-supported publication blending science, narrative, and visual storytelling for a global readership.
Broad incumbents
- Treehugger: A sustainability-focused digital media platform covering environmental topics including urban design, green building, and nature. Comparable to TNOC's audience interest in sustainability and urban nature, though broader in scope and currently operating at reduced publishing cadence.
- CityLab (Bloomberg): Bloomberg's urban-focused publication covering cities, policy, design, and culture. Shares TNOC's urbanist readership and essay-driven format but operates at significantly larger scale as part of a major media company with broader editorial reach.
- Yale Environment 360: An online magazine published by the Yale School of the Environment covering global environmental issues. It overlaps with TNOC on urban nature and climate topics but operates from an institutional base with broader environmental scope and larger editorial resources.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Nature of Cities social profiles
Digital presenceThe Nature of Cities financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Nature of Cities leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
The Nature of Cities funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Nature of Cities M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Nature of Cities
What does The Nature of Cities do?
The Nature of Cities is a transdisciplinary, donor-supported online publication and knowledge-sharing platform that advances dialogue and ideas on urban nature, green cities, and nature-based solutions. It combines art, science, and practice by publishing essays, opinions, book reviews, comics, poetry, and multimedia contributions from a global network of practitioners, researchers, artists, and policymakers. All content is freely accessible to readers worldwide.
Is The Nature of Cities a public or private company?
The Nature of Cities is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Nature of Cities founded?
The Nature of Cities was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Nature of Cities based?
The Nature of Cities is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Nature of Cities make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations and Support.
Who are The Nature of Cities's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Strong Towns, Landscape Architecture Magazine, Streetsblog, Urban Omnibus, Next City, The Dirt (ASLA) and Anthropocene Magazine. Broad incumbents are Treehugger, CityLab (Bloomberg) and Yale Environment 360.
Does The Nature of Cities have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Nature of Cities.
What industry is The Nature of Cities in?
The Nature of Cities's product category is Environmental Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAEAG, Home, Garden & DIY Magazines, with a secondary code of BPAMABAG, Local & Neighborhood Communities. Its NAICS code is 7121 and its SIC code is 2721.