Supporting the “virtuous cycle” in urban ecosystems: How research can inform plans, policies, and projects that impact urban resilience

Supporting the “virtuous cycle” in urban ecosystems: How research can inform plans, policies, and projects that impact urban resilience PDF Author: Michele Romolini
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2832530583
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description

Supporting the “virtuous cycle” in urban ecosystems: How research can inform plans, policies, and projects that impact urban resilience

Supporting the “virtuous cycle” in urban ecosystems: How research can inform plans, policies, and projects that impact urban resilience PDF Author: Michele Romolini
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2832530583
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description


Nature-based Solutions for Urban Resilience and Human Health

Nature-based Solutions for Urban Resilience and Human Health PDF Author: Bo Hong
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2832548768
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
Climate change and rapid urbanization have significant impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services. Nature-based solutions (NBS) is an action to work with and enhance nature to solve social challenges, and NBS is an "umbrella concept" for other mature nature-based approaches. Blue-green spaces (BGS) can provide a wide range of ecosystem services, including mitigation of urban heat island effects, reduction of flooding, mitigation of air pollution, and provision of recreational spaces, thereby promoting physical and mental health. Hence, NBSs can serve as cost-effective climate mitigation and adaptation tool that contribute to additional co-benefits for ecosystem health and human well-being. Environmentalists, epidemiologists, ecologists, urban planners, and policymakers have paid more attention to NBSs for urban resilience and human health. In this Research Topic, we hope to discuss these topics: (1) ecological exposure and health benefits; (2) climate adaptation and human health promotion possibilities by NBSs; (3) methodological and theoretical approaches as well as technologies of NBSs corresponding to urban resilience; (4) underlying pathways and potential mechanisms of NBSs in improving human health; and (5) policies and management for planning and design of the successful implementation of NBSs in relation to urban resilience and human health. This Research Topic focuses on, but is not restricted to the following issues: • Nature-based interventions for climate adaptation. • Ecological exposure and physical and psychological health outcomes. • Climate adaption environmental policies and management. • Theoretical and case-based studies on climate mitigation and adaption by NBSs • Ecosystem service perspective on promoting urban resilience. This Research Topic welcomes the following types of manuscripts: Original Research, Hypothesis and Theory, Review, and Perspective.

Resilience in Ecology and Urban Design

Resilience in Ecology and Urban Design PDF Author: S.T.A. Pickett
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400753411
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 512

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Book Description
The contributors to this volume propose strategies of urgent and vital importance that aim to make today’s urban environments more resilient. Resilience, the ability of complex systems to adapt to changing conditions, is a key frontier in ecological research and is especially relevant in creative urban design, as urban areas exemplify complex systems. With something approaching half of the world’s population now residing in coastal urban zones, many of which are vulnerable both to floods originating inland and rising sea levels, making urban areas more robust in the face of environmental threats must be a policy ambition of the highest priority. The complexity of urban areas results from their spatial heterogeneity, their intertwined material and energy fluxes, and the integration of social and natural processes. All of these features can be altered by intentional planning and design. The complex, integrated suite of urban structures and processes together affect the adaptive resilience of urban systems, but also presupposes that planners can intervene in positive ways. As examples accumulate of linkage between sustainability and building/landscape design, such as the Shanghai Chemical Industrial Park and Toronto’s Lower Don River area, this book unites the ideas, data, and insights of ecologists and related scientists with those of urban designers. It aims to integrate a formerly atomized dialog to help both disciplines promote urban resilience.

Pathways to Urban Sustainability

Pathways to Urban Sustainability PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309313465
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 91

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Book Description
The workshop was convened to explore the region's approach to urban sustainability, with an emphasis on building the evidence base upon which new policies and programs might be developed. Participants examined how the interaction of various systems (natural and human systems; energy, water, and transportation systems) affected the region's social, economic, and environmental conditions. The objectives of the workshop were as follows: - Discuss ways that regional actors are approaching sustainability- specifically, how they are attempting to merge environmental, social, and economic objectives. - Share information about ongoing activities and strategic planning efforts, including lessons learned. - Examine the role that science, technology, and research can play in supporting efforts to make the region more sustainable. - Explore how federal agency efforts, particularly interagency partnerships, can complement or leverage the efforts of other key stakeholders. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: A Focus on the Houston Metropolitan Region: Summary of a Workshop was designed to explore the complex challenges facing sustainability efforts in the Houston metropolitan region and innovative approaches to addressing them, as well as performance measures to gauge success and opportunities to link knowledge with action. In developing the agenda, the planning committee chose topics that were timely and cut across the concerns of individual institutions, reflecting the interests of a variety of stakeholders. Panelists were encouraged to share their perspectives on a given topic; however, each panel was designed to provoke discussion that took advantage of the broad experience of the participants.

Building Urban Resilience

Building Urban Resilience PDF Author: Abhas K. Jha
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821398261
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
This handbook is a resource for enhancing disaster resilience in urban areas. It summarizes the guiding principles, tools, and practices in key economic sectors that can facilitate incorporation of resilience concepts into decisions about infrastructure investments and urban management that are integral to reducing disaster and climate risks.

Pathways to Urban Sustainability

Pathways to Urban Sustainability PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309158958
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
More than half of the world's people now live in cities. In the United States, the figure is 80 percent. It is worthwhile to consider how this trend of increased urbanization, if inevitable, could be made more sustainable. One fundamental shortcoming of urban research and programs is that they sometimes fail to recognize urban areas as systems. Current institutions and actors are not accustomed to exploring human-environment interactions, particularly at an urban-scale. The fact is that these issues involve complex interactions, many of which are not yet fully understood. Thus a key challenge for the 21st century is this: How can we develop sustainable urban systems that provide healthy, safe and affordable environments for the growing number of Americans living in cities and their surrounding metropolitan areas? To address this question, the National Research Council organized a workshop exploring the landscape of urban sustainability research programs in the United States. The workshop, summarized in this volume, was designed to allow participants to share information about the activities and planning efforts of federal agencies, along with related initiatives by universities, the private sector, nongovernmental groups, state and local agencies, and international organizations. Participants were encouraged to explore how urban sustainability can move beyond analyses devoted to single disciplines and sectors to systems-level thinking and effective interagency cooperation. To do this, participants examined areas of potential coordination among different R&D programs, with special consideration given to how the efforts of federal agencies can best complement and leverage the efforts of other key stakeholders. Pathways to Urban Sustainability offers a broad contextual summary of workshop presentations and discussions for distribution to federal agencies, regional organizations, academic institutions, think tanks and other groups engaged in urban research.

An Ecosystem Services Approach to Assessing the Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

An Ecosystem Services Approach to Assessing the Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309288487
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
As the Gulf of Mexico recovers from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, natural resource managers face the challenge of understanding the impacts of the spill and setting priorities for restoration work. The full value of losses resulting from the spill cannot be captured, however, without consideration of changes in ecosystem services-the benefits delivered to society through natural processes. An Ecosystem Services Approach to Assessing the Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico discusses the benefits and challenges associated with using an ecosystem services approach to damage assessment, describing potential impacts of response technologies, exploring the role of resilience, and offering suggestions for areas of future research. This report illustrates how this approach might be applied to coastal wetlands, fisheries, marine mammals, and the deep sea-each of which provide key ecosystem services in the Gulf-and identifies substantial differences among these case studies. The report also discusses the suite of technologies used in the spill response, including burning, skimming, and chemical dispersants, and their possible long-term impacts on ecosystem services.

Resilient Urban Futures

Resilient Urban Futures PDF Author: Zoé A. Hamstead
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030631311
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
This open access book addresses the way in which urban and urbanizing regions profoundly impact and are impacted by climate change. The editors and authors show why cities must wage simultaneous battles to curb global climate change trends while adapting and transforming to address local climate impacts. This book addresses how cities develop anticipatory and long-range planning capacities for more resilient futures, earnest collaboration across disciplines, and radical reconfigurations of the power regimes that have institutionalized the disenfranchisement of minority groups. Although planning processes consider visions for the future, the editors highlight a more ambitious long-term positive visioning approach that accounts for unpredictability, system dynamics and equity in decision-making. This volume brings the science of urban transformation together with practices of professionals who govern and manage our social, ecological and technological systems to design processes by which cities may achieve resilient urban futures in the face of climate change.

Science for the Sustainable City

Science for the Sustainable City PDF Author: Steward T. A. Pickett
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300249381
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 478

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Book Description
A presentation of key findings and insights from over two decades of research, education, and community engagement in the acclaimed Baltimore Ecosystem Study In a world of more than seven billion people—who mostly reside in cities and towns—the Baltimore Ecosystem Study is recognized as a pioneer in modern urban social-ecological science. After two decades of research, education, and community engagement, there are insights to share, generalizations to examine, and research needs to highlight. This timely volume synthesizes the key findings, melds the perspectives of different disciplines, and celebrates the benefits of interacting with diverse communities and institutions in improving Baltimore’s ecology. These widely applicable insights from Baltimore contribute to our understanding the ecology of other cities, provide a comparison for the global process of urbanization, and inform establishment of urban ecological research elsewhere. Comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and highly original, it gives voice to the wide array of specialists who have contributed to this living urban laboratory.

Planning for Ecosystem Services in Cities

Planning for Ecosystem Services in Cities PDF Author: Davide Geneletti
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030200248
Category : Ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 87

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Book Description
This open access book presents current knowledge about ecosystem services (ES) in urban planning, and discusses various urban ES topics such as spatial distribution of urban ecosystems, population distribution, and physical infrastructure properties. The book addresses all these issues by: i) investigating to what extent ecosystem services are currently included in urban plans, and discussing what is still needed to improve planning practice; ii) illustrating how to develop ecosystem services indicators and information that can be used by urban planners to enhance plan design; iii) demonstrating the application of ES assessments to support urban planning processes through case studies; and iv) reflecting on criteria for addressing equity in urban planning through ecosystem service assessments, by exploring issues associated with the supply of, the access to and demand for ES by citizens. Through fully worked out case studies, from policy questions, to baseline analysis and indicators, and from option comparison to proposed solutions, the book offers readers detailed and accessible coverage of outstanding issues and proposed solutions to better integrate ES in city planning. The overall purpose of the book is to provide a compact reference that can be used by researchers as a key resource offering an updated perspective and overview on the field, as well as by practitioners and planners/decision makers as a source of inspiration for their activity. Additionally, the book will be a suitable resource for both undergraduate and post-graduate courses in planning and geography.