ABSTRACT
This second edition covers recent developments around the world with contributors from 33 different countries. It widens the handbook’s scope by including ecological design; consideration of cultural dimensions of the use and conservation of urban nature; the roles of government and civil society; and the continuing issues of equity and fairness in access to urban greenspaces.
New features include an emphasis on the biophilic design of homes and workplaces, demonstrating the value of nature, in order to counter the still prevalent attitude among many developers that nature is a constraint rather than a value. The volume explores great practical achievements that have occurred since the first edition, with many governments increasingly recognizing and legislating on urban nature and green infrastructure matters, since cities play a major role in adapting to change, particularly to climate crisis. New topics such as the ecological role of light at night and human microbiota in the urban ecosystem are introduced. Additional attention is given to food production in cities, particularly the multiple roles of urban agriculture and household gardens in different contexts from wealthy communities to the poorest informal settlements in deprived communities. The emphasis is on demonstrating what can be achieved, and what is already being done.
The book aims to help scholars and graduate students by providing an invaluable and up-to-date guide to current urban ecological thinking across the range of disciplines, such as geography, ecology, environmental science/studies, planning, and urban studies, that converge in the study of towns and cities and urban design and living. It will also assist practitioners and civil society members in discovering the ways diff erent specialists and thinkers approach urban nature.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|4 pages
Urban ecology: the field of study, its growth and present concerns
part II|6 pages
Humans as an integral component of urban ecosystems
chapter 9|14 pages
Urban greenspaces
part III|123 pages
The urban biophysical environment
chapter 16|12 pages
Vulnerability of urban nature to climate change
part IV|234 pages
Cities as biophysical landscapes: diversity of habitats and species
chapter 22|9 pages
Urban food production sites
chapter 23|13 pages
Urban green corridors
chapter 25|12 pages
A man-made watercourse absorbed into the natural landscape – England’s Manchester Ship Canal
part V|73 pages
The urban ecosystem: urban metabolism
part VI|255 pages
Environmental place-making
chapter 49|11 pages
Cooling the urban environment
chapter 50|10 pages
Mitigating air pollution and the urban heat island effect
chapter 59|11 pages
Rewilding urban landscapes
part VII|80 pages
Diversity, inclusion, and access to greenspace benefits
part VIII|3 pages
Governance, targets, and valuation of urban greenspace, from global to local
chapter 69|10 pages
Intergovernmental bodies and the greening of cities
chapter 70|24 pages
Local governments and urban ecology
chapter 71|12 pages
Urban green infrastructure
part IX|41 pages
Environmental justice, fairness, and equity in urban ecology
chapter 74|11 pages
Urban nature and justice
part |62 pages
Conclusions