Urban ecology

DEFINITION: Subfield within the science of ecology that is concerned with the interactions among human beings, plants, and animals in urban and metropolitan areas

Since the beginnings of the modern environmental movement in the 1970s, the science of urban ecology has gradually become accepted as an indispensable part of the urban planning process.

In the 1920s, sociologists Robert E. Park and Ernest Watson Burgess developed a theory of urban that postulates that cities are environments similar to those found in nature, regulated by principles analogous to those that govern nature and natural evolution. This theory views the overall structure of cities as the consequence of the struggle for limited urban land, which influences cities to evolve gradually into five concentric rings. The term “urban ecology” also refers generally to that part of the science of ecology that studies the interactions among human beings, plants, and animals within urban and metropolitan areas, as well as the effects that urban development has on natural ecosystems and on in these areas.

Importance of Biodiversity

High levels of biodiversity (genetic, species, and diversity) are important not only for plant and animal species but also for the quality of life of human beings. The higher the level of biodiversity in an ecosystem, the better able the is to face instability, whether of natural or (human-caused) origin.

In regard to biodiversity, human-nature interactions in urban and metropolitan areas face two challenges. First, the rapid and increasing pressure that will result from foreseeable demographic growth is likely to have substantial negative impacts on biodiversity. According to the United Nations (UN), on November 15, 2022, the world's population reached 8 billion. This is up by 1 billion people since 2010 and 2 billion since 1998. The UN believed the world's population would rise to about 10 billion by 2050. Second, global climate change, although still uncertain in its extent, requires and measures in urban and metropolitan areas that will increase the resilience of urban ecosystems. On the other side, changes in land cover affect the stocks of carbon, and through that effect these changes are also expected to have impacts on climate. For this reason, changes in land cover owing to anthropogenic factors constitute another facet of urban ecology that needs to become a central issue in urban planning.

Changes in Urban Planning

During most of the twentieth century, the was not a central theme in urban planning, and most planners did not develop urban biodiversity strategies. Since the 1970s, however, protection of the environment has gradually become a key component of urban planning. Urban green spaces and green corridors are important elements in the urban planning paradigm, known as the new urbanism, that developed in part as a reaction against modern urbanism. Urban ecology also gradually became part of the core disciplines that constitute the multidisciplinary field of urban planning.

In addition to conducting biodiversity inventories (such as inventories of native plants in of extinction in specific urban areas), urban ecologists examine the impacts of urbanization on native species of plants and animals (both vertebrates and invertebrates) and on wildlife in general (including reptiles, aquatic vegetation, and native fish). They also evaluate the effects of streets, roads, and other urban infrastructures on plant and animal species.

The study of the urban ecologist ends, in most cases, in policy recommendations in the form of an urban biodiversity strategy, as part of a wider urban planning process. These policy recommendations address different types of actions, both direct and indirect. An urban biodiversity strategy may suggest, for example, that a city or metropolitan area create habitats or restore natural habitats within the area, clean from green spaces and green corridors, connect fragmented and isolated pieces of urban green spaces so that green corridors and networks are created, develop wildlife habitats in the backyard gardens of private homes, plant native species as part of the regeneration of brownfields, collect native species in places that are going to be developed and transplant them to other parts of the area, improve the water quality in rivers, or reduce soil erosion in particular areas. Indirect actions recommended might include the establishment of environmental education programs designed to change social values related to natural ecosystems and to increase public awareness about the environment.

Bibliography

Frantzeskaki, N. et al. "A Transformative Shift in Urban Ecology Toward A More Active and Relevant Future for the Field and for Critics." Ambio, vol. 53, 2024, pp. 871-859, doi.org/10.1007/s13280-024-01992-y. Accessed 23 July 2024.

Goudie, Andrew. The Human Impact on the Natural Environment: Past, Present, and Future. 6th ed. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2006.

McDonnell, Mark J., Amy K. Hahs, and Jürgen Breuste, eds. Ecology of Cities and Towns: A Comparative Approach. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Marzluff, John M., et al., eds. Urban Ecology: An International Perspective on the Interaction Between Humans and Nature. New York: Springer, 2008.

Popkin, Gabriel. "Urban Oasis." Science, 3 Nov. 2022, www.science.org/content/article/pioneering-urban-ecology-finds-surprising-biodiversity-berlin-s-green-spaces. Accessed 23 July 2024.

Selman, Paul. Local Sustainability: Managing and Planning Ecologically Sound Places. London: Paul Chapman, 1996.