The coexistence of amenity and biodiversity in urban landscapes

Abstract

Amenity is a longstanding component of town planning and municipal governance.Biodiversity is a far more recent concept, yet interpreting the conservation mandate in a local context is a significant challenge for landscape and urban planners. This paper explores the concepts of amenity and biodiversity and investigates their compatibility in an urbanising world. Their historical expression in law and urban planning is considered, and empirical research on the links between human wellbeing, green environments and biodiversity is reviewed. We argue that amenity is an underutilised vehicle for achieving biodiversity goals in line with new urban greening paradigms because of its longstanding currency with planning professionals. However, conflict between biodiversity and amenity can arise in practice, depending on a city's social-ecological context. These challenges can be overcome through setting clear objectives, utilising scientific evidence, engaging with local communities and ensuring landscape policy is sufficiently flexible to accommodate local needs and characteristics.

Preferences for Urban Green Space Characteristics: A Comparative Study in Three Portuguese Cities

“…The stated preference for public green spaces with plant species richness contrasts with the moderate emphasis given to animal species richness (7.8%, range by city, 6.8-9.5%). These results seem to echo the complex relationships between people's preferences and perceived biodiversity values [55,56], under an apparent 'people-biodiversity paradox' [57]. In fact, the results for this paper echo other similar studies in which vegetation diversity was found to be moderately to very important [17,23,26] but contrasts with other studies that have identified negative preferences related to habitats of high plant species richness [56,58,59].…”

Communicating Biophilic Design: Start With the Grasslands

“…Biophilic design seeks to use humans' inherent affinity with natural systems (Wilson, 1984) to produce design outcomes that improve both human well-being and promote natural values (Beatley, 2011). Effectively including biophilic and ecological principles into the design of the built environment requires greater interaction and collaboration between ecologists and built form professionals (e.g., planners, urban designers, architects, landscape architects) (Steiner et al, 2013;Ives and Kelly, 2015). This requires effective communication, or translation, of evidence-based biophilic design concepts into a form that enables uptake and action by built form professionals and managers.…”

Spatial scale influences how people value and perceive green open space

“…With rapid urbanisation characterising the 21 st Century, it is vital that green spaces are planned and managed well to promote ecological sustainability and human health and wellbeing (Ives and Kelly 2016;Sandifer et al 2015;Swanwick et al 2003). Urban and suburban green spaces allow for a variety of complex interactions between people and nature (Konijnendijk et al 2013, Andersson et al 2014, Hunter and Luck 2015.…”