The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology

About this book

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 Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology 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 Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology 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.

Contents

Part 1: Urban Ecology: the Field of Study, Its Growth and Present Concerns
Introduction / David Goode
1. Urban Areas and Urban Ecology / N. E. McIntyre
2. Urban Ecology in the Ancient Tropics: Foodways and Urban Forms / Christian Isendahl, Monica L. Smith, Miriam T. Stark, Federica Sulas and Stephan Barthel
3. 20th century growth of urban ecology / David Goode, Ian Douglas, Mark McDonnell, Amy Hahs and Ian MacGregor-Fors
4. Urban Ecology: Its Boom in the First Fwo Fecades of the 21st Century / David Goode

Part 2: Humans as an Integral Component of Urban Ecosystems
Introduction / Tan Puay Yok
5. A Transdisciplinary Urban Ecology Approach to Complex Urban Systems / Elizabeth Cook and Timon McPhearson
6. Science is Not Enough: Grassroots and Bottom-Up Action in Urban Ecology / Cecilia Herzog, Diana Wiesner, David Maddox
7. Biophilic Cities: Elements of the Vision and Emerging Practice / Timothy Beatley
8. Urban ecology: Art and the cultivation of ecological mindsets / Patrick M. Lydon
9. Urban Greenspaces – understanding patterns of use and greenspace distribution in England to inform spatial planning / Jane Houghton and Hazel Thomas

Part 3: Nature in the city: a biophysical environment
Introduction / Ian Douglas
10. Climate of Cities / C.S.B. Grimmond
11. Understanding urban heat islands / Mathias Roth
12. The impacts of artificial light at night on urban ecosystems / M.J. Grose and T.M. Jones
13. Urban hydrology / Ian Douglas
14. Urban Geomorphology / Ian Douglas
15. Urban estuaries and coasts / L.A. Naylor, H. Kippen, M. MacArthur, A. Zaldívar-Jiménez, A. Vovides, J.D. Hansom and A. Rennie
16. Vulnerability of urban nature to climate change: an overview of impacts and assessment approaches, with examples from urban forests / Camilo Ordóñez, James W.N. Steenberg, and Peter N. Duinker
17. Urban Soils / J. Alan Yeakley

Part 4: Cities as biophysical landscapes: diversity of habitats and species
Introduction / Ian Douglas and Pippin Anderson
18. Biodiversity and cities / P M L Anderson
19. The invasion of walls, pavements and building surfaces by organisms / C. Philip Wheater
20. Urban cliffs / Robert A. Francis
21. Habitat heterogeneity in suburbia; the importance of the urban mosaic / Paul Lintott and Ian Douglas
22. Urban food production sites: diversity of habitats and species with special reference to Africa / Diana Lee-Smith and Olufunke Cofie
23. Urban green corridors: connectivity, multifunctionality and implications for wildlife movement / Ian Douglas
24. Landscaped parks and open spaces / C. Pickering and M. Hermy
25. A man-made watercourse absorbed into the natural landscape – England’s Manchester Ship Canal: a case study in adaptive re-use and brownfield restoration / Paul Stanton Kibel
26. Grassland on reclaimed soil, with streets, car parks and buildings but few or no mature trees / Tony Kendle
27. Urban rivers and their ecology / Cate Brown
28. Wetlands in Urban Environments / Monica M. Palta and Emilie K. Stander
29. Mammals in urban environments / Marion Chatelain and Marta Szulkin
30. Urban birds: Urban avoiders, urban adapters and urban exploiters / Piotr Tryjanowski, Federico Morelli and Anders Pape Møller
31. Urban Insects / Gail A. Langellotto and Damon Hall
32. Urban soil fauna / Katalin Szlavecz, Csaba Csuzdi, Elisabeth Hornung and Zoltan Korsós
33. Recent examples of colonisation and adaptation by birds in UK towns and cities / David Goode
34. Introduced and invasive animals: species interactions in towns and cities / Valentina la Morgia
35. Feral animals in the built environment / Peter J. Jarvis
36. Alien plants in cities: human-driven patterns, risks and benefits / Ingo Kowarik and Leonie K. Fischer

Part 5: The urban ecosystem: urban metabolism
Introduction / Ian Douglas
37. The analysis of cities as ecosystems / Meghan L. Avolio and Tara L. E. Trammell
38. Urban Metabolism Analysis / Shu-Li Huang, Chun-Lin Lee, Su Xu, Shenghui Cui and Xuemei Bai
39. Urban ecological footprints: the city region and the wider world / Joy Clancy
40. Human microbiota and human health in the changing urban ecosystem / Graham A. W. Rook  
41. Urban agroecology: principles and applications / M.A. Altieri and C. I. Nicholls
42. The City as a Life Support System: Ecopoiesis Revisited / David Haley and Vincent Walsh

Part 6: Biophilia and the value of urban nature
Introduction / Harini Nagendra
43. Assessing ecosystem services in urban areas / Patrick O'Farrell
44. Ecosystem disservices from urban nature / Diane E. Pataki
45. Diversity in Perceived Values of Urban Nature / Wardatul Akmam, Shaikh Mohammad Kais, Md. Shafikuzzaman Joarder, Md. Fakrul Islam
46. Recreational values of urban nature / Wendy Y. Chen
47. Urban nature and its potential to contribute towards human well-being / Åsa Ode Sang and Marcus Hedblom
48. Urban Nature and Human Physical Health / Jenna H. Tilt and Lee K. Cerveny
49. Cooling the urban environment: Effect of tree transpiration on outdoor air temperature / N.H. Wong, C.L. Tan, P.Y. Tan, S.K. Jusuf, S. Tong and D.J.C. Hii
50. Mitigating air pollution and the urban heat island effect: the roles of urban trees / Danielle Sinnett
51. Public attitudes towards urban nature / Marthe Derkzen and Jason Byrne
52. Cultural and sacred worship of urban nature / Seema Mundoli and Harini Nagendra
53. The role of urban nature in fostering social capital and sense of place / Amrita Sen, Harini Nagendra, Rodrigo Antonio Braga Moraes Victor,  Sueli Angelo Furlan, Elaine Aparecida Rodrigues, Joanne Tippett, Janice Astbury and Ian Douglas
54. Values, Justice and Urban Ecosystems / Seema Mundoli and Harini Nagendra
55. Creative conservation / Grant Luscombe and Richard Scott
56. Giving multicultural community groups a voice in creating, using and managing urban green space / Judy Ling Wong
57. Innovative stormwater management through natural and built green infrastructure / Thomas W. Liptan and Michael Charles Houck
58. Urban waterways / Derek B. Booth
59. Rewilding urban landscapes: attributes, types and application as a greening policy / Yun Hye Hwang
60. Urban ecological design - towards an holistic interdisciplinary vision / Michael J. Wells and Lincoln Garland
61. Incorporating the multiple benefits of urban nature into ecological design / Christina Breed
62. Designing neighborhood greenspaces with urban ecosystem services / Tan Puay Yok

Part 7: Protecting urban wildlife
Introduction / Mike Houck
63. Ensuring equitable green space to deprived social groups / Alexis Vásquez and Cynnamon Dobbs
64. An inclusive approach towards the co-creation and management of urban greenspace as a response to the demand for sustainable cities / Dagmar Haase
65. Capacity building through international collaborations for nature in cities and urban green infrastructure / Oliver Hillel, M’Lisa Colbert and Ian Douglas
66. Using cultural and everyday societal meanings of connection to flora and fauna to build commitment to nature / Judy Ling Wong CBE
67. Using economic and health assessment to make a case for urban greenspace / Ian Douglas
68. Urban greening: the role of international organisations and civil society / Jonathan Hughes

Part 8: Governance, targets and valuation of urban greenspace, from global to local
Introduction / David Goode
69. Intergovernmental bodies and the greening of cities: roles of UN bodies and international conventions / Peter Frost
70. Local governments and urban ecology: planning and practice examples from Africa, Asia and Europe / A.A. Nor Akmar, Anna Hersperger, Nadja Kabisch, Collins Adjei Mensah, Xiangrong Wang and Ian Douglas
71. Urban Green Infrastructure – Strategic Planning of Urban Green and Blue for Multiple Benefits / Stephan Pauleit, Rieke Hansen, Emily L. Rall and Werner Rolf
72. The role of targets and standards in delivering urban greenspace for people and wildlife / John Box, Richard Boon, Timoticin Kwanda, Aleksandra Stupar, Jenna H. Tilt and Alexis Vásquez
73. Valuation of Urban Ecological Capital / Haripriya Gundimeda

Part 9: Environmental Justice, fairness and equity in urban ecology
Introduction / Ian Douglas
74. Urban nature and justice: unequal access to resources and ecosocial resistance in the contemporary city / Marcelo Lopes de Souza
75. Urban agriculture planning for environmental justice and food security / Graciela Arosemena Díaz
76. Ways of creating usable, multipurpose greenspace in impoverished settlements in cities of the Global South / Alex Barimah Owusu, Jacob Songsore, Wan-yu Shih and Leslie Mabon

Conclusions: continuing debates
77. How to conserve natural resources in housing developments: design, construction, and post-construction / Mark Hostetler
78. Native planting versus non-native planting: the state of the debate / Lincoln Garland and Michael J. Wells
79. Global eco-urban futures – green and sustainable, or brown and vulnerable? / Joe Ravetz
80. Urban ecology for the future / Ian Douglas

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Biography

Ian Douglas is an Emeritus Professor of Physical Geography at the University of Manchester, UK. PML Anderson is a lecturer and director of graduate studies in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science and urban ecology researcher at the African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town, South Africa. David Goode is an ecologist and naturalist, formerly Head of Environment at the Greater London Authority, and now Honorary Professor at University College, London, UK. Michael C. Houck is The Urban Naturalist of the Urban Greenspaces Institute, Portland, OR, USA. David Maddox is the Founder and Editor of The Nature of Cities, New York, USA  Harini Nagendra is Professor of Sustainability at Azim Premji University, India. Tan Puay Yok is an Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore, Singapore.