Urban Ecology for Citizens and Planners

Ideal for city residents, developers, designers, and officials looking for ways to bring urban environments into harmony with the natural world and make cities more sustainable, Urban Ecology for Citizens and Planners offers a wealth of information and examples that will answer fundamental scientific questions, guide green initiatives, and inform environmental policies and decision-making processes.

 

This book provides an overview of the synergistic relationships between humans and nature that shape the ecology of urban green spaces. It also emphasizes the social and cultural value of nature in cities for human health and well-being. Chapters describe the basic science of natural components and ecosystems in urban areas and explore the idea of biophilic urbanism, the philosophy of building nature into the framework of cities. To illustrate these topics, chapters include projects, case studies, expert insights, and successful citizen science programs from urban areas around the world.

 

Authors Gail Hansen and Joseli Macedo argue that citizens have increasingly important roles to play in the environmental future of the cities they live in. A valuable resource for real-world solutions, this volume encourages citizens and planners to actively engage and collaborate in improving their communities and quality of life. 

 

Gail Hansen is associate professor in the Department of Environmental Horticulture at the University of Florida. Joseli Macedo is professor in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at the University of Calgary.

 

The balancing act of urban conservation

“Our insights are informed by a decade studying the ecology of vacant land within Cleveland, Ohio, USA, a post-industrial city that currently encompasses >27,000 vacant lots.In 2012, we received funding to evaluate eight economically-feasible strategies to manage vacant land, with the broad goals of improving habitat quality for arthropods, supporting ecosystem services and beautifying the city Despite familiarity with recognized socioecological frameworks, we struggled to apply recommendations to our project, particularly when establishing and maintaining native plants. We share our experiences of practical realities ecologists can face when attempting to follow best practices, and note the strategies employed by our team and other when implementing community-driven conservation”

Katherine J. Turo & Mary M. Gardiner 

Nature Communications volume 11

Urban Ecological Restoration

New Zealand has set a goal of achieving 10% vegetative cover, primarily by planting its native tree species, into its largest 20 urban centers. This short TED talk by Bruce Clarkson discusses how they did just that. You can view the video at the below link

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z756oeV4JBQ

New Urban Ecology book

Urban Ecology covers the latest theoretical and applied concepts in urban ecological research. This book covers the key environmental issues of urban ecosystems as well as the human-centric issues, particularly those of governance, economics, sociology and human health. The goal of Urban Ecology is to challenge readers’ thinking around urban ecology from a resource-based approach to a holistic and applied field for sustainable development. There are seven major themes of the book: emerging urban concepts and urbanization, land use/land cover change, urban social-ecological systems, urban environment, urban material balance, smart, healthy and sustainable cities and sustainable urban design. Within each section, key concepts such as monitoring the urbanization phenomena, land use cover, urban soil fluxes, urban metabolism, pollution and human health and sustainable cities are covered. Urban Ecology serves as a comprehensive and advanced book for students, researchers, practitioners and policymakers in urban ecology and urban environmental research, planning and practice.

Key Features

Includes global case studies from over 14 countries, providing a first-hand account of recent applications

Covers the phenomena of sustainable transport, nutrient recovery and human health, among many others

Examines environmental issues as well as social-ecological systems and governance

The City Nature Index

Ecological Imperatives is the foundational pillar of the International Ecocity Standards. It comprises three standard conditions: Ecological Integrity, Earth’s Carrying Capacity, and Healthy Biodiversity. Together, these conditions require that:

1.         essential linkages within and between ecosystems are maintained,

2.         demands on ecosystems are within the Earth’s bio-capacity, and

3.         biodiversity of local, bioregional, and global ecosystems is sustained.

The Ecological Imperatives pillar of the Ecocity Standards therefore states:

The city is committed to sustaining and restoring biodiversity of local, regional and global ecosystems, including species diversity, ecosystem diversity, and genetic diversity. It keeps its demand on ecosystems within the limits of the Earth’s carrying capacity and supports ecological integrity by maintaining essential linkages within and between ecological corridors.

In September 2018, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in collaboration with the Scottish Wildlife Trust launched the Global Alliance for Greener Cities with an aim of raising awareness about the value of ecosystems in urban areas. An initiative coming out of this effort is the City Nature Index providing a standardized way for cities to measure the quality of their underlying stock of natural resources. The Index is envisioned to work across three scales providing a means for cities to measure:

1.         biodiversity within cities

2.         natural capital assets in and adjacent to cities

3.         cities impacts on remote natural habitats through demand for resources

As envisioned, the City Nature Index promises to be a useful tool, well aligned with the Ecocity Standards, particularly those comprising the Ecological Imperatives. It can help cities gauge their impacts and opportunities to steward natural resources in support of healthy biodiversity within the city, in the bioregion, and globally.

Three teams of global experts are working on developing the measures for each scale of the City Nature Index. Originally planned for public release at the World Conservation Congress to be held in Marsielle in June 2020, the event was postponed due to the Covid 19 global pandemic. It is rescheduled for January 7 to 15, 2021.

Written by Jennie Moore,  Director, Institute Sustainability at British Columbia Institute of Technology and Director, Ecocity Centre of Excellence at BCIT.

Revel in the Grubby Wilderness

Writer Rebecca Long shared how she spent the COVID sequester time in 2020:

“As cities have been instructed to shelter in place, many renters have sought comfort in activities that merely require a window or a stoop – like birdwatching, gardening and even regrowing vegetable scraps on windowsills.”

Her full article on the Guardian website can be read at 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/25/urban-nature-wildlife-windows-stoops-parks-pandemic

The Nature of Cities idea hive website

"TNOC’s Mission: We believe the route to cities that are better for both people and nature is through transdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration. The mission of The Nature of Cities is to curate joined conversations about urbanism across ways of knowing and modes of action. We create transdisciplinary, publicly available, and widely disseminated programs, events, knowledge, and engagements for green city making. We strive for cities worldwide that are resilient, sustainable, livable, and just."

Check them out at https://www.thenatureofcities.com