Abstract
This paper advances a theory of urban interiority through the concept of public nature interiority, integrating ecological thinking into the spatial, sensory, and temporal conditions of exterior spaces that feel interior. Drawing on works by Tine Poot, Richard Sennett, Liz Teston, and Suzie Attiwill, it challenges binary distinctions between interior and exterior, emphasising relational and dynamic urban conditions. Using Attiwill's notions of collective individuation and an ecology of subjectivity, interiority is reframed as being shaped not only by human perception and experience with nature but also by biotic relations and multispecies interactions. The theory is situated within terrain vague—indeterminate, overlooked urban spaces—examining their ecological and spatial potential through public nature interiority. Three downtown alleyways in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA serve as case studies, analysed through site observations, photography, and speculative digital collages. These studies demonstrate how residual spaces can support human-nature connection through sensory encounters, biodiversity, and microclimates when approached as ecological interiors. By foregrounding cultural and scientific languages of nature, the paper advocates a life-centric design framework that values spontaneous ecologies and resists over-aestheticised greening. Public nature interiority is proposed as a medium for ecological awareness, spatial discovery, and urban resilience, enabling ecologically open urban interiors to act as agents of rewilding, biodiversity restoration, and environmental meaning in space.
Publication Date
7-29-2026
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Submitted Date
2026-01-06
Accepted Date
2026-06-24
First Page
187
Last Page
206
Recommended Citation
Ordia, K. L. (2026). Unplanned Public Nature Interiority. Interiority, 9 (2), 187-206. https://doi.org/10.7454/in.v9i2.1264
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