Emerging issues in urban ecology: implications for research, social justice, human health, and well-being

Jennings, Viniece; Floyd, Myron F.; Shanahan, Danielle F.; Coutts, Christopher; Sinykin, Alex

doi:10.1007/s11111-017-0276-0

Cited by 69 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 103 publications

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“…Increasing the extent of urban forests while preventing the loss of existing canopy cover are viewed as key sustainability initiatives for municipalities given the multitude of benefits trees provide [54,[76][77][78][79]. Interdisciplinary research efforts have sought to understand how urban forests can influence the well-being of residents and contribute to urban ecosystem health [4,11,80]. Ecologists, for example, might focus on how forest structure translates to ecosystem functions that in turn yield ecosystem services [9,81], while social scientists might center their attention on the distributional equity of the forest as an environmental amenity [16,18].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When humans benefit or are harmed by these functions, they are often referred to as ecosystem services or disservices, respectively [5][6][7][8]. Urban forests provide regulating ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and storage, atmospheric pollution removal, mitigation of the urban heat island effect, and stormwater runoff reduction, in addition to other social, cultural, and human-health related benefits [7,[9][10][11][12][13]. Ecosystem disservices such as damage to infrastructure or the deposition of allergenic pollen can also result [6,8,14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Examining the distributional equity of urban tree canopy cover and ecosystem services across United States cities

Riley

Gardiner

2020

PLoS ONE

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Examining the distributional equity of urban tree canopy cover (UTCC) has increasingly become an important interdisciplinary focus of ecologists and social scientists working within the field of environmental justice. However, while UTCC may serve as a useful proxy for the benefits provided by the urban forest, it is ultimately not a direct measure. In this study, we quantified the monetary value of multiple ecosystem services (ESD) provisioned by urban forests across nine U.S. cities. Next, we examined the distributional equity of UTCC and ESD using a number of commonly investigated socioeconomic variables. Based on trends in the literature, we predicted that UTCC and ESD would be positively associated with the variables median income and percent with an undergraduate degree and negatively associated with the variables percent minority, percent poverty, percent without a high school degree, percent renters, median year home built, and population density. We also predicted that there would be differences in the relationships between each response variable (UTCC and ESD) and the suite of socioeconomic predictor variables examined because of differences in how each response variable is derived. We utilized methods promoted within the environmental justice literature, including a multi-city comparative analysis, the incorporation of high-resolution social and environmental datasets, and the use of spatially explicit models. Patterns between the socioeconomic variables and UTCC and ESD did not consistently support our predictions, highlighting that inequities are generally not universal but rather context dependent. Our results also illustrated that although the variables UTCC and ESD had largely similar relationships with the predictor variables, differences did occur between them. Future distributional equity research should move beyond the use of proxies for environmental amenities when possible while making sure to consider that the use of ecosystem service estimates may result in different patterns with socioeconomic variables of interest. Based on our findings, we conclude that understanding and remedying the challenges associated with inequities requires an understanding of the local social-ecological system if larger sustainability goals are to be achieved.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the distributional equity of urban tree canopy cover and ecosystem services across United States cities

Riley

Gardiner

2020

PLoS ONE

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“…Higher spatial resolutions are needed, especially in developing countries, where urban structures and construction patterns are usually of smaller scales and higher in complexity than in developed countries [11]. Moreover, (informal) urbanization and LULC dynamics are extraordinarily high in developing countries and the deterioration of urban ecosystems, e.g., rivers and their riparian areas, is rapidly advancing [17][18][19][20]. A detailed analysis and assessment of these dynamics would be very helpful to better understand the problem and to develop local solutions for a more sustainable urban development.…”

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confidence: 99%

A New Approach to High-Resolution Urban Land Use Classification Using Open Access Software and True Color Satellite Images

2019

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Urbanization nowadays results in the most dynamic and drastic changes in land use/land cover, with a significant impact on the environment. A detailed analysis and assessment of this process is necessary to take informed actions to reduce its impact on the environment and human well-being. In most parts of the world, detailed information on the composition, structure, extent, and temporal changes of urban areas is lacking. The purpose of this study is to present a methodology to produce high-resolution land use/land cover maps by the use of free software and satellite imagery. These maps can help to understand dynamic urbanizations processes to plan, design, and coordinate sustainable urban development plans, especially in areas with limited resources and advancing environmental degradation. A series of high-resolution true color images provided by Google Earth Pro were used to do initial classifications with the Semi-Automatic Classification Plug-in in QGIS. Afterwards, a new methodology to improve the classification by the elimination of shadows and clouds, and a reduction of misclassifications through superimposition was applied. The classification was carried out for three urban areas in León, Nicaragua, with different degrees of urbanization for the years 2009, 2015, and 2018. Finally, the accuracy of the classification was analyzed using randomly defined validation polygons. The results are three sets of high-resolution land use/land cover maps of the initial and the improved classification, showing the detailed structures and temporal dynamics of urbanization. The average accuracy of classification reaches 74%, but up to 85% for the best classification. The results clearly identify advancing urbanization, the loss of vegetation and riparian zones, and threats to urban ecosystems. In general, the level of detail and simplicity of our methodology is a valuable tool to support sustainable urban management, although its application is not limited to these areas and can also be employed to track changes over time, providing therefore, relevant information to a wide range of decision-makers.

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“…A systems perspective sees the world in a holistic way, looking at the relationships and interactions between parts, predicting their behaviours and seeking to devise integrative solutions that produce desired outcomes [32,33].…”

Section: Application Of Systems Thinking To Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Urban Planning and Design: A Systematic Literature Review

et al. 2019

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Urbanization is a defining feature of the modern age, yet the current model of urban development profoundly alters the natural environment, often reducing biodiversity and ultimately threatening human wellbeing. An ecologically based urban planning and design paradigm should consider a more harmonious relationship. Through a systematic literature review of 57 papers, this research identified relevant concepts and theories that could underpin this new paradigm. It revealed a noticeable increase in academic interest in this subject since 2013 and the development of concepts and theories that reflect a more holistic socio-ecological systems approach to urban planning and design based on a transdisciplinary integration and synthesis of research. Seven main themes underpin the academic literature: ecosystem services, socio-ecological systems, resilience, biodiversity, landscape, green infrastructure, as well as integrated and holistic approaches. Six of these can be organised into either a sustainability stream or a spatial stream, representing the foundations of a potential new ecological urban planning and design paradigm that applies sustainability-related concepts in a spatial setting. The final theme, integrated and holistic, includes concepts that reflect the fundamental characteristics of this new paradigm, which can be termed ‘urban consonance’.

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Emerging issues in urban ecology: implications for research, social justice, human health, and well-being

Cited by 69 publications

References 103 publications

Examining the distributional equity of urban tree canopy cover and ecosystem services across United States cities

Examining the distributional equity of urban tree canopy cover and ecosystem services across United States cities

A New Approach to High-Resolution Urban Land Use Classification Using Open Access Software and True Color Satellite Images

Ecological Urban Planning and Design: A Systematic Literature Review

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