Urban post‐industrial landscapes have unrealized ecological potential

Urbanized and post‐industrial sites often host considerable biodiversity but are too frequently dismissed by conservation professionals, in part because current species assemblages differ from the site's natural history. Given dramatic irreversible changes to these sites, we conclude that historic ecosystems do not provide a useful reference for restoration. However, seen through novel ecosystem lens, landscapes already have value thus require nuanced restoration planning recognizes their potential community composition. We highlight slag‐dominated brownfields of Calumet region as an example landscape may serve both recreational area humans refuge native biodiversity.