Continuous integration in urban social-ecological systems science needs to allow for spacing co-existence

Abstract

Urbanization brings benefits and burdens to both humans and nature. Cities are key systems for integrated social-ecological research and the interdisciplinary journal of Ambio has published ground-breaking contributions in this field. This reflection piece identifies and discusses integration of the human and natural spheres in urban social-ecological research using the following foundational papers as important milestones: Folke et al. (1997), Ernstson et al. (2010) and Andersson et al. (2014). These papers each take unique approaches that aim to uncover core properties—processes, structures, and actors—of urban systems and set them into mutual relationship. This piece will end with a forward-looking vision for the coming 50 years of urban sustainability and resilience study in Ambio.

Exploring the Coupling Coordination Relationship of Urban Resilience System in Ecologically Fragile Areas: Case Study of the Loess Plateau in China

“…The index system of urban resilience includes the elements of urban disaster management, urban disaster prevention and mitigation measures, and disaster prevention policies for cities in disaster-prone regions; the key to the index system construction is to reflect the city's comprehensive response-ability and adaptability to human-natural disasters [40,41]. Additionally, based on sustainable theories in ecology and sociology, urban resilience is based on the multi-dimensional perspective of urban sustainable development goals (SDGs) in order to evaluate the interaction between urban ecosystem resilience and its subsystems [42,43]. Some studies have pointed out that the urban resilience measurement reflects the evolution of the structure and function of the urban ecosystem, that the key to improving urban resilience lies in urban ecosystem service capacity, and that the resilience of urban ecosystem service capacity depends on the quantity, quality, and structural elements of green infrastructure [44,45].…”

Analysis of Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of Ecosystem Services and Trade-Offs/Synergies during Urbanization in the Loess Plateau, China

“…However, urbanization has also resulted in ecological degradation and fragmentation of landscapes in urban areas. These changes have altered ecosystem processes and consequently impacted the ecosystem services (ESs) that can be provided to humans [4]. For instance, land use changes due to urbanization have impacted carbon storage, which in turn affects the climate regulation function of ecosystems [5].…”

Urban refugia sheltering biodiversity across world cities

“…However, the impact caused by urban growth on the environment is going beyond the cities and may drive further future changes at multiple scales (Grimm et al 2008). In this framework, over the last decades urban landscapes have been seen as socio-ecological systems with a new paradigm when thinking about human-environmental interactions: the co-existence of the ecological and social systems within and across cities (Haase 2021). Consequently, urban areas have become a central node for the long-term functioning of societies and ecosystems with high spatial heterogeneity and different levels of connectivity with surrounding agriculture and/or natural areas (Capotorti et al 2020).…”