Wildlife corridors in urban and suburban environments reduce road mortality, support genetic diversity, and improve welfare outcomes for animals living alongside human populations.
Urban wildlife face compounded welfare challenges: roads that kill and injure, habitat patches too small to support natural ranges and social structures, garbage-derived diets with poor nutritional value, and increased human conflict. Corridors address the movement component of welfare — connecting patches allows animals to find mates, disperse young, access seasonal resources, and avoid inbreeding. Welfare benefits extend beyond physical safety: animals in connected habitat show lower chronic stress, better body condition, and more natural behavioral repertoires. Urban planning that integrates wildlife corridors from the design stage is far more effective and cheaper than retrofitting after development.