Applied urban ecology

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.

FOREWORD Jürgen Breuste (Austria).

PART I: INTRODUCTION.

1. Urban ecology - brief history and present challenges - Ulrike Weiland & Matthias Richter (Germany).

PART II: URBAN ECOLOGY: RELATED DISCIPLINES AND METHODS.

2. Thematic-methodical approaches to applied urban ecology - Matthias Richter & Ulrike Weiland (Germany).

3. Monitoring urban land use changes with remote sensing techniques - Ellen Banzhaf & Maik Netzband (Germany).

PART III:SELECTED FIELDS OF APPLIED URBAN ECOLOGY.

A. Pathways of the ecosystem approach.

4. Quantifying spatiotemporal patterns and ecological effects of urbanization: a multiscale landscape approach - Jianguo Wu & al. (USA).

5. Designing urban systems: ecological strategies with stocks and flows of energy and material - Peter Baccini (Switzerland).

B. Socio-environmental threats.

6. Environmental and ecological threats in Indian megacities - Surinder Aggarwal & Carsten Butsch (India).

7. From wasteland to wilderness: aspects of a new form of urban nature - Dieter Rink & Harriet Herbst (Germany).

C. Flooding and climate adaptation.

8. Multi-scale flood risk assessment in urban areas - a geoinformatics approach - Norman Kerle & Dinand Alkema (Netherlands).

9. Urban open spaces and adaptation to climate change - Marialena Nikolopoulou (England).

D. Urban biodiversity.

10. Social aspects of urban ecology in developing countries, with an emphasis on urban domestic gardens - Sarel Cilliers, Stefan Siebert, Elandrie Davoren & Rina Lubbe (South Africa).

11. Plant material for urban landscapes in the era of globalisation: roots, challenges and innovative solutions - Maria Ignatieva (New Zealand).

E. Environmental urban design.

12. Ecological infrastructure leads the way: the negative approach and landscape urbanism for smart preservation and smart growth - Kongjian Yu (China).

13. Integrating science and creativity for landscape planning and design of urban areas - Antje Stokman & Christina von Haaren (Germany).

14. Landscape as a living system: Shanghai 2010 Expo Houtan Park - Kongjian Yu (China).

F. Environmental urban politics.

15. Geographical perspectives on a radical political ecology of water - Alex Loftus (England).

PART IV: SYNTHESIS.

16. Synthesising urban ecology research and topics for urban environmental management - Matthias Richter & Ulrike Weiland (Germany).

Index.