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Contributed Talk

Session: : Ecological Planning, Design, and Implementation

COS 36-6 - Practical applications for urban ecology: Science-based design for nature-forward cities

Monday, August 7, 2023
4:45 PM – 5:00 PM PDT
Location: B115
Abstract: Urban areas are expanding globally and are increasingly studied as a subject of ecological interest. As the field of urban ecology has grown and matured, information about the ecological functioning and health of cities has become more readily available. However, a gap remains between this body of academic research and the practices of urban planning, design, and development. While the benefits of urban ecology have entered the public and professional conversation, many practitioners remain unclear on what is needed to achieve these benefits and where there are tradeoffs or thresholds to plan around. We aim to bridge this gap by aggregating and translating scientific research to develop tools and approaches for use by urban planners, designers, landscape architects, and homeowners seeking to create urban landscapes that support biodiversity, human health, and climate resilience. We present three case studies showing how urban ecological research can be used to inform urban design by setting science-based targets and identifying high-value actions backed by research. In the first, we synthesize research on the impacts of urban greening on worker productivity, satisfaction, and mental health to develop a business case for bringing nature into office parks. The second and third case studies address how much nature is “enough” in an urban area. The second case study addresses the question of how much native planting is needed to effectively support wildlife, providing guidance for landscape architects during the design process. The third case study expands to set targets for urban tree canopy to achieve multiple ecological and human health outcomes, which can be applied for neighborhood and city planning. In each case, urban ecology research is used to direct effective action to enhance nature in the city. Building from these case studies, we illustrate ways in which scientific publications in urban ecology can be most useful to practitioners and can connect to on-the-ground needs and priorities.