History of Urbanization and the Missing Ecology

Elmqvist, Thomas; Redman, Charles L.; Barthel, Stephan; Costanza, Robert

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-7088-1_2

Cited by 107 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Studies on the interactions among biodiversity, ecosystem services, and urbanization conclude that they are multifaceted and elude simplification [49,50]. This complexity poses both opportunities and challenges for conservation in urban landscapes.…”

Section: An Urban Perspective For Ecological Governance and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urbanization in Africa: challenges and opportunities for conservation

Güneralp

Lwasa

Masundire

et al. 2017

Environ. Res. Lett.

279

148

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Africa, a continent exceptionally rich in biodiversity, is rapidly urbanizing. Africa's urbanization is manifest in the growth of its megacities as well as that of its smaller towns and cities. The conservation planning and practice will increasingly need to account for direct and indirect impacts of the continent's urbanization. The objective of our study is to pinpoint the outstanding challenges and opportunities afforded by the growing cities on the continent to the conservation goals and practices. While there have been many studies on the impacts of urbanization and development on conservation in Africa these studies tended to focus on specific issues. Here, we provide a synthesis of this body of work supported by new analysis. Urban areas, growing both in population and in land cover, pose threats to the integrity of the continent's ecosystems and biodiversity but their growth also create opportunities for conservation. The burgeoning urban populations, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, increase the strain on already insufficient infrastructure and bring new governance challenges. Yet, Africa's ecosystems can serve as foundations for green infrastructure to serve the needs of its urban populations while safeguarding fragile biodiversity. Overall, while worsening social problems overshadow the concerns for biodiversity there are also promising initiatives to bring these concerns into the fold to address social, institutional, and ecological challenges that emerge with the continued urbanization of the continent.

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Section: An Urban Perspective For Ecological Governance and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urbanization in Africa: challenges and opportunities for conservation

Güneralp

Lwasa

Masundire

et al. 2017

Environ. Res. Lett.

279

148

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This 0.7%-point increase until 2050 corresponds to an area almost the size of the Netherlands and is commonly related to urbanization. This also raises economic, social and environmental challenges as land is a scarce resource (McPhearson et al, 2016;Elmqvist et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mediating Sustainability and Liveability—Turning Points of Green Space Supply in European Cities

Wolff

Haase

2019

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Urban growth in and around European cities affects multiple aspects of the environment including green spaces. On the one hand, many cities struggle with environmental problems, overcrowding and overuse resulting from high population densities. On the other hand, high densities result in better access to public green spaces, effective public transport, or less demand for resources. Consequently, finding a balance between density and high liveability in a green and sustainable urban environment is a major challenge for urban planning. Although many studies report and discuss the provision of green spaces in European cities, they fail to relate green space provision to the potential demand by urban dwellers, and to the extent differences can be detected between types of green. Against this background, this paper develops a systematic understanding of green space supply and its relation to the residential density of cities. In so doing, it detects turning points of green space supply in 905 European cities. The results show that green space supply is sensitive to the type of green space, population size and location of cities. Particularly the relation between residential density and the supply with urban green spaces covering parks, public gardens or cemeteries, indicate turning points: at certain residential densities the urban green space supply is decreasing. At a certain residential density, the urban green space supply is highest and cities have a high potential to optimize the balance between sustainability and liveability. However, there is no single optimal residential density. Rather, turning points are different between cities of different density and location in Europe and between different types of neighborhoods within cities. Therefore, different optimum values need to be defined sensitive to these characteristics. For most of the European cities, a decrease of population or built-area cannot be expected in the future. In this situation, the approach to identifying the turning points for green space supply as presented in this paper can be used as a comparative method. This informs green space policies for defining acceptable densities of urban development and corresponding standards for the provision of urban green space.

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“…According to the duration of the effects on human wellbeing, LUC processes may be distinguished into transient or irreversible ones, over medium or long periods (e.g., urbanization [8]). For example, the urban expansion originates several long-term environmental impacts, such as the reduction of croplands for food production [7], the biodiversity loss [9], and the ecosystem services degradation [10,11]. The prediction and monitoring of such dynamics, (i.e., soil regions, [46]), and on the other hand, the related suitability for agricultural production [47,48].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where Land Use Changes Occur: Using Soil Features to Understand the Economic Trends in Agricultural Lands

et al. 2017

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This study investigates the major land use change processes over the 1990-2008 period in Abruzzo region (Central Italy) in relation to the characteristics of the soils and with particular regard to their capability for agricultural purposes, in order to highlight their implications on agricultural productivity. The relative changes in the agricultural incomes and land values were also estimated. To this end, we proposed an inventory approach as a flexible and feasible way for monitoring land use changes at multiple scales. As main outcomes, the shrinkage of agricultural lands and their internal changes (intensification vs. extensification processes) were highlighted. The shrinkage of agricultural lands was strictly related to: (a) reforestation process in mountain areas and less productive lands after land abandonment; and (b) urbanization on plains and more productive lands. Although the intensification process was demonstrated to have a positive effect on the overall regional agricultural incomes, especially on high quality soils, this was not adequate to compensate the economic loss due to the other land use changes, especially in marginal areas and low-to-medium quality soils. Finally, the paper discusses the geographical pattern of land use change processes across the region, including their interrelations and combined effects, and ultimately offers recommendations to decision-makers addressing future sustainable development objectives from local to global scale.

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History of Urbanization and the Missing Ecology

Cited by 107 publications

References 49 publications

Urbanization in Africa: challenges and opportunities for conservation

Urbanization in Africa: challenges and opportunities for conservation

Mediating Sustainability and Liveability—Turning Points of Green Space Supply in European Cities

Where Land Use Changes Occur: Using Soil Features to Understand the Economic Trends in Agricultural Lands

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