ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes that metapopulation modelling -specifically the incidence function model-has the potential to be used as a landscape-scale assessment tool for urban planning. Most approaches to planning take into account either habitat configuration or ecological processes; the incidence function model (IFM) provides an approach which integrates the two. The chapter presents a framework for integrating metapopulation modelling into the urban planning process and highlight key attributes an assessment model should hold. Landscape planning ideally should include quantitative tools to allow planners and decision makers to measure and compare the ecological impact of potential future landscape configurations. The chapter argues that a framework for urban landscape planning should include the following key components: identification of biodiversity targets, collection of data, creation of landscape plans, assessment of the ecological sustainability of the proposed landscape plans, and a comparison of competing landscape plans. Landscape planning often fails to appropriately consider biodiversity because targets are not properly defined.
