Human-Wildlife Interactions in Urban Environments: Conflicts, Drivers, and Pathways for Coexistence

The continuous intensification of human–wildlife interactions in cities is an emerging global challenge that reflects broader environmental transitions, including urbanisation, climate change, land-use change, and habitat fragmentation, as well as social transformations such as shifting public and governmental attitudes toward nature. As wildlife species adapt to urban landscapes, their interactions with people become more frequent and more complex, spanning a wide spectrum from conflict and risk to tolerance, coexistence, and mutual adaptation. Recent research has shown that the nature and intensity of these interactions are shaped not only by ecological factors but also by human perceptions, cultural norms, gender, educational level, and socio-economic conditions. Long-term monitoring, cross-cultural and geographic comparisons, and social-ecological approaches have revealed substantial temporal changes in both wildlife behaviour and public expectations. Despite this progress, many cities still lack data-driven policy frameworks for managing conflict, regulating diverse forms of human–wildlife interaction, and promoting coexistence, largely due to differences in biogeographic contexts and governance capacities.This Research Topic aims to close this knowledge gap by uniting diverse research traditions within a single inter- and transdisciplinary platform. The goal of this Research Topic is to advance a comprehensive understanding of urban human–wildlife interactions, including conflict, tolerance, coexistence, and governance responses, by integrating ecological, social, urban-landscape, One Health, and spatiotemporal perspectives. Urban interactions are often multifaceted, arising from mismatches between wildlife adaptation and human expectations, but also from opportunities for coexistence where effective management, community engagement, and inclusive governance are in place. Through the synthesis of quantitative ecological data, social perception studies, spatial modelling, citizen science and participatory monitoring approaches, and policy analyses, this collection aims to identify the mechanisms driving human–wildlife conflict and other interactions, and to highlight effective mitigation and coexistence strategies. A central dimension of this collection is the One Health perspective: urban human–wildlife interfaces may involve zoonotic, parasitological, and vector-borne risks, particularly where wildlife, domestic animals, humans, waste, water sources, and fragmented habitats converge. Contributions addressing wildlife-associated pathogens, parasites, vectors, public health perceptions, and integrated management strategies are therefore explicitly welcomed. Ultimately, our aim is to provide actionable, evidence-based insights for city planners, conservation practitioners, policymakers, and communities working toward urban coexistence, supporting the development of cities that are safe, inclusive, biodiverse, and resilient in the face of rapid environmental and social change.This Research Topic welcomes contributions that explore the ecological, social, spatial, behavioural, cultural, public health, and governance dimensions of human–wildlife interactions in urban environments. We explicitly encourage studies addressing not only conflict, but also tolerance, risk perception, cultural values, coexistence outcomes, and governance responses. Priority themes include: (1) spatio-temporal patterns of conflict and other human–wildlife interactions; (2) wildlife behavioural responses to urban landscapes; (3) public perceptions, attitudes, risk evaluations, and cultural values; (4) impacts of city structure, resource availability, and human activity on different wildlife taxonomic groups; (5) cross-species or multi-species interaction dynamics; (6) One Health dimensions of urban human–wildlife interfaces, including zoonotic risks, parasites, vectors, and integrated public health approaches; (7) citizen science, participatory monitoring, and community-based approaches for documenting interactions and supporting management; (8) technological innovations for monitoring and predicting interactions and conflict; and (9) management strategies, communication tools, and policy solutions for coexistence. Eligible manuscripts include original research, systematic reviews, methodological papers, case studies, brief reports, and policy perspectives. We encourage interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, multi-country, and multi-species studies and welcome collaborations that integrate ecological data with social science, GIS, citizen science, public health, and applied conservation practice.If you are interested in submitting or have any questions please contact the journal email: ethology@frontiersin.org Topic editors: Sayantani M Basak, Carlos A. Delgado-V. Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81808/human-wildlife-interactions-in-urban-environments-conflicts-drivers-and-pathways-for-coexistence