ABSTRACT

This second edition covers recent developments around the world with contributors from 33 different countries. It widens the handbook’s scope by including ecological design; consideration of cultural dimensions of the use and conservation of urban nature; the roles of government and civil society; and the continuing issues of equity and fairness in access to urban greenspaces.

New features include an emphasis on the biophilic design of homes and workplaces, demonstrating the value of nature, in order to counter the still prevalent attitude among many developers that nature is a constraint rather than a value. The volume explores great practical achievements that have occurred since the first edition, with many governments increasingly recognizing and legislating on urban nature and green infrastructure matters, since cities play a major role in adapting to change, particularly to climate crisis. New topics such as the ecological role of light at night and human microbiota in the urban ecosystem are introduced. Additional attention is given to food production in cities, particularly the multiple roles of urban agriculture and household gardens in different contexts from wealthy communities to the poorest informal settlements in deprived communities. The emphasis is on demonstrating what can be achieved, and what is already being done.

The book aims to help scholars and graduate students by providing an invaluable and up-to-date guide to current urban ecological thinking across the range of disciplines, such as geography, ecology, environmental science/studies, planning, and urban studies, that converge in the study of towns and cities and urban design and living. It will also assist practitioners and civil society members in discovering the ways diff erent specialists and thinkers approach urban nature.

part I|4 pages

Urban ecology: the field of study, its growth and present concerns

chapter 4|11 pages

Urban ecology

Its boom in the first two decades of the twenty-first century

part II|6 pages

Humans as an integral component of urban ecosystems

chapter 6|12 pages

Science is not enough

Grassroots and bottom-up action in urban ecology

chapter 7|10 pages

Biophilic cities

Elements of the vision and emerging practice

chapter 8|12 pages

Urban ecology

Art and the cultivation of ecological mindsets

chapter 9|14 pages

Urban greenspaces

Understanding patterns of use and greenspace distribution in England to inform spatial planning

part III|123 pages

The urban biophysical environment

chapter 10|13 pages

Climate of cities

chapter 11|13 pages

Understanding urban heat islands

chapter 13|22 pages

Urban hydrology

chapter 14|24 pages

Urban Geomorphology

chapter 16|12 pages

Vulnerability of urban nature to climate change

An overview of impacts and assessment approaches, with examples from urban forests

chapter 17|11 pages

Urban Soils

part IV|234 pages

Cities as biophysical landscapes: diversity of habitats and species

chapter 18|8 pages

Biodiversity and cities

chapter 20|11 pages

Urban Cliffs

chapter 21|14 pages

Habitat heterogeneity in suburbia

The importance of the urban mosaic

chapter 22|9 pages

Urban food production sites

Diversity of habitats and species with special reference to Africa

chapter 23|13 pages

Urban green corridors

Connectivity, multi-functionality, and implications for wildlife movement

chapter 25|12 pages

A man-made watercourse absorbed into the natural landscape – England’s Manchester Ship Canal

A case study in adaptive re-use and brownfield restoration

chapter 27|11 pages

Urban rivers and their ecology

chapter 30|13 pages

Urban birds

Urban avoiders, urban adapters, and urban exploiters

chapter 31|13 pages

Urban insects

chapter 34|11 pages

Introduced and invasive animals

Species interactions in towns and cities

chapter 36|11 pages

Alien plants in cities

Human-driven patterns, risks and benefits

part V|73 pages

The urban ecosystem: urban metabolism

chapter 39|10 pages

Urban ecological footprints

The city region and the wider world

chapter 41|11 pages

Urban agroecology

Principles and applications

chapter 42|13 pages

The city as a life-support system

Ecopoiesis revisited

part VI|255 pages

Environmental place-making

chapter 46|13 pages

Recreational values of urban nature

chapter 49|11 pages

Cooling the urban environment

Effect of tree transpiration on outdoor air temperature

chapter 50|10 pages

Mitigating air pollution and the urban heat island effect

The roles of urban trees

chapter 55|17 pages

Creative Conservation

chapter 58|13 pages

Urban waterways

chapter 59|11 pages

Rewilding urban landscapes

Attributes, types, and application as a greening policy

chapter 60|11 pages

Urban ecological design

Towards a holistic interdisciplinary vision

part VII|80 pages

Diversity, inclusion, and access to greenspace benefits

chapter 68|12 pages

Urban greening

The role of international organizations and civil society

part VIII|3 pages

Governance, targets, and valuation of urban greenspace, from global to local

chapter 69|10 pages

Intergovernmental bodies and the greening of cities

Roles of UN bodies and international conventions

chapter 70|24 pages

Local governments and urban ecology

Planning and practice examples from Africa, Asia, and Europe

chapter 71|12 pages

Urban green infrastructure

Strategic planning of urban green and blue for multiple benefits

part IX|41 pages

Environmental justice, fairness, and equity in urban ecology

part |62 pages

Conclusions

chapter 77|22 pages

How to conserve natural resources in housing developments

Design, construction, and post-construction

chapter 78|11 pages

Native planting versus non-native planting

The state of the debate

chapter 79|19 pages

Global eco-urban futures

Green and sustainable, or brown and vulnerable?

chapter 80|8 pages

Urban ecology for future generations