About this book
Applied Urban Ecology: A Global Framework explores ways in which the environmental quality of urban areas can be improved starting with existing environmental conditions and their dynamics. Written by an internationally renowned selection of scientists and practitioners, the book covers a broad range of established and novel approaches to applied urban ecology. Approaches chosen for the book are placed in the context of issues such as climate change, green- and open-space development, flood-risk assessment, threats to urban biodiversity, and increasing environmental pollution (especially in the "megacities" of newly industrialized countries). All topics covered were chosen because they are socially and socio-politically relevant today.
Further topics covered include sustainable energy and budget management, urban water resource management, urban land management, and urban landscape planning and design. Throughout the book, concepts and methods are illustrated using case studies from around the world. A closing synopsis draws conclusions on how the findings of urban ecological research can be used in strategic urban management in the future. "Applied Urban Ecology: A Global Framework" is an advanced textbook for students, researchers and experienced practitioners in urban ecology and urban environmental research, planning, and practice.
Contents
List of contributors, xi
Foreword, xiii
PART I: INTRODUCTION, 1
1. Urban ecology - brief history and present challenges, 3
PART II: URBAN ECOLOGY: RELATED DISCIPLINES AND METHODS, 13
2. Thematic-methodical approaches to applied urban ecology, 15
3. Monitoring urban land use changes with remote sensing techniques, 18
PART III: SELECTED FIELDS OF URBAN ECOLOGY, 33
A. Pathways Of The Ecosystem Approach
4. Quantifying spatiotemporal patterns and ecological effects of urbanization: a multiscale landscape approach, 35
5. Designing urban systems: ecological strategies with stocks and flows of energy and material, 54
B. Socioenvironmental Threats
6. Environmental and ecological threats in Indian mega-cities, 66
7. From wasteland to wilderness - aspects of a new form of urban nature, 82
C. Flooding And Climate Adaptation
8. Multiscale flood risk assessment in urban areas - a geoinformatics approach, 93
9. Urban open spaces and adaptation to climate change, 106
D. Urban Biodiversity
10. Social aspects of urban ecology in developing countries, with an emphasis on urban domestic gardens, 123
11. Plant material for urban landscapes in the era of globalization: roots, challenges and innovative solutions, 139
E. Environmental Urban Design
12. Ecological infrastructure leads the way: the negative approach and landscape urbanism for smart preservation and smart growth, 152
13. Integrating science and creativity for landscape planning and design of urban areas, 170
14. Landscape as a living system: Shanghai 2010 Expo Houtan Park, 186
F. Environmental Urban Politics
15. Geographical perspectives on a radical political ecology of water, 193
PART IV: SYNTHESIS, 205
16. Synthesizing urban ecology research and topics for urban environmental management, 207
Index, 213
Customer Reviews
Biography
Matthias Richter is Environmental Scientist, Publicist and University Lecturer in Germany.
Ulrike Weiland is Professor of Urban Ecology at the Institute for Geography, University of Leipzig, Germany.
