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The number of papers focusing on ecological interactions in urban environments has increased in recent years. This review aimed to address the panorama of urban ecology and biological surveys in Brazil. A systematic search was carried out using the Web of Science and Scopus platforms for papers on urban ecology to understand which institutions, authors, themes, cities, biomes, states, and regions have addressed the theme in Brazil to date. A total of 932 articles were found, in 196 scientific journals. Most papers were published between 2010 and 2019. This involved 350 municipalities in the five Brazilian regions, with Curitiba, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro being the municipalities with the most papers. São Paulo was the state that presented the most papers, with 23.7% of the total, and the Southeast region was the most representative with 36.6%. The biome with the highest concentration of papers (61.2%) was the Atlantic Forest. A total of 2537 authors were registered, affiliated with a total of 413 institutions from 19 countries. The institutions with the most papers were the Federal University of Paraná and University of São Paulo. The most discussed topic was related to botany (69%), and the most used keyword was "urban afforestation". The number of papers published was greater in municipalities with higher human development index, number of inhabitants and relative urbanized area. This review revealed the scarcity of studies in low-income areas, and the need for greater incorporation of the social aspect, landscape ecology and ecological interactions in urban ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last years, world cities have emerged as multiple and complex habitats hosting numerous and varied urban refugia for biodiversity. Therefore, the published literature was systematically reviewed to investigate the increasingly acknowledged role of many urban habitats to function as refugia for species. Many plants and animals were reported to colonize a variety of urban environments: Urban forest/grassland (natural/seminatural), City park, Historical park (villa garden, botanical gardens, cemeteries, etc.), Green spaces (abandoned areas, railways, line of trees, etc.), Water body, and Built area. Refugia were found in over a hundred world cities, especially in medium- to very big-size cities. The number of papers focusing on animals (n = 66) were higher than those regarding plants and mushrooms (n = 19 and n = 1, respectively); however, the number of species recorded within refugia were the highest for plants. Plants exhibited the highest frequency (7 out of 19 papers) in Historical park, while animals in Urban forest/grassland (20 out of 66 papers). In most studies (25.9%), urban refugia were linked to Urban forest/grassland that is terrestrial natural and seminatural sites widespread within or around cities. The 22.3% of studies referred to generic Green spaces of several types interspersed within cities, both public and private. The 14.1% of refugia were found in Built area (artificial). About the 33% of studies reported the presence of species worthy of conservation (rare, endemic, endangered, or protected) for a total of 365 species. The 20% of investigated papers reported the presence of alien species for a total of 879 species. Invasive alien species recorded within refugium areas should be subjected to control measures to prevent degradation to refugia. Overall, the capability for urban areas to host a huge amount of biodiversity needs to be acknowledged by city planners so that management practices that maintain and support such diversity can be pursued. Recording and monitoring species along with their refugial habitats is fundamental to achieve this goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Civic transition experiments targeting sustainable food production increasingly engage with edible cities aiming at providing free food on public urban spaces. To deepen the understanding regarding how transition experiments can build urban transformative capacities, this paper presents a transdisciplinary case study on two civic edible city initiatives and their measures to cooperatively initiate, innovate, and accelerate edible cities in Dresden (Germany). We identified the two key action areas "civic participation" and "cooperative area activation" covering ten key transition activities to illustrate the variety and content of a transformation towards an edible city. Based on expert interviews and document analyses, we evaluated their process progression by linking research from urban ecology with transformation science. By visualizing its quantitative results, common and distinct patterns of the edible city initiatives could be made visible. Overall, we found that the level of activity is highest in the key action area of "citizen participation". In this context, both transition experiments had different but specific foci in terms of their key transition activities (i.e. education, activation of stakeholders), whereby activities related to civic empowerment and social cohesion were lacking in both cases. To re-shape narratives pertaining to land access, food production, and participation under the principles of justice, we suggest that transition experiments related to "civic participation" and "cooperative area activation" must be approached together. Our systematic assessment can then enable civic transition teams to strategically identify common goals that need to be prioritized for initiating, innovating, and accelerating urban edible commons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary responds to "Cues to Care: future directions for ecological landscapes" (Hostetler 2020), which states that "research on cues to care has been sparse". In a series of papers between 1988-1997, I introduced Cues to Care (CTC) and developed related theories about how CTC function to introduce and sustain environmentally beneficial landscape elements in human-dominated landscapes, and we recently published a systematic analytical review of CTC, which included 212 scholarly papers (excluding my own work). I write this commentary to address errors and apparent misunderstanding of CTC in Hostetler (2020), and to offer insight and direction for those seeking a deeper understanding of CTC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the contents published in the journal "Urban Ecosystems." The papers published in the journal analyze the urban ecosystem from a social science point of view. The paper presented by researcher Marcos Pedlowski and his colleagues examines the internal structure of a Brazilian city. In this city urbanization erupted from the stagnation of an old agricultural frontier. Researcher Anntoinette WinklerPrins in his paper discusses people's contribution to biodiversity through a detailed study of house-lot gardens in the city of Santarém, Brazil.

The systematic integration of green infrastructure (GI) concepts in urban planning shows promise to reduce environmental hazards; while creating sociocultural benefits. However, cities in sub-Saharan Africa face rapid urbanisation and are challenged by the degradation of existing GI, increasing their vulnerability to climatic risks. This paper presents the findings of a transdisciplinary research project that investigated GI planning in the City of Tshwane, South Africa, over two years. The researchers conducted a community survey, an on-the-ground rapid assessment of multifunctional benefit provisions, first-hand observations of local stormwater systems, reviewed policy documents and conducted semi-structured interviews with metro officials. To integrate the above findings, four design studios and eight co-creation workshops were held that explored GI spatial planning in the city. The researchers examined the uptake of GI planning principles, and the challenges, opportunities and local proposals for GI applications, and here synthesised some main conclusions. Despite many well-known challenges, GI opportunities include creating socioeconomic incentives for stronger human-nature relations, providing for multifunctional benefits and anchoring GI in local communities. Interactive research can facilitate increased local awareness and engagement, but access to GI benefits is physically constrained and socially determined by knowledge, networks and safety factors. Based on the above findings, the researchers propose locally adapted planning strategies to enhance GI: creating opportunities for GI access and co-ownership, encouraging multifunctional, safe and flexible GI, supporting multiscale GI integration, and strengthening collaborative governance. A joint GI vision can reinforce city ownership along with flexible and creative design alternatives that are rooted in local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizen science is increasingly credited for promoting scientific literacy and having the potential to empower and engage local people in conservation. However, rigorous evaluation of citizen science outcomes is limited, particularly those related to social capital and environmental stewardship. Social science can help to address this gap as it can identify barriers that hinder the success of citizen science programs and drivers that promote positive outcomes, such as social norms, community engagement, and effective communication strategies. However, little has been written about how academic partners in social science fields can engage with citizen science practitioners. In this paper we describe seven design components essential to the success of a long-term research collaboration between academic social scientists and staff of Billion Oyster Project (BOP), a nonprofit environmental organization whose mission is to restore oyster reefs to New York Harbor through citizen science, restoration, and public education initiatives. We describe how over an eight-year period, social science methodologies and findings were used to inform BOP’s environmental citizen science and volunteer programing and management. We argue that collaborative research is essential for the advancement of our field, and that action-driven research partnerships should become a key component of effective citizen science programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While urban nature has been reported as positively associated with health and well-being, only a few research focused on the health-beneficial effects of the ecological quality of natural environments. When designing urban green spaces, there is a growing need for establishing rich biodiversity and creating spaces where residents can recover from daily demands and stress. This study aims to understand if human aesthetic perceptions align with ecological quality by exploring the correlation between environmental naturalness, measured by avian diversity, and the restorativeness people experience from the natural landscapes. Additionally, we examine the relationship between the naturalness measured objectively and the naturalness people perceive. We conducted surveys to collect perceptions about natural landscapes in Taipei Metropolitan, Taiwan. We retrieved bird survey data from BBS Taiwan to estimate the naturalness levels of the sites and took photographs on-site to generate the interventions. Participants viewed images and evaluated their restoring and natural perceptions of landscapes. There were 128 participants who answered the survey. Our findings reported landscapes with greater objective naturalness, higher avian species richness and the Shannon diversity index scores, were assessed as more natural and were positively associated with perceived restorativeness. Although bird abundance, another objective naturalness measure did not show significant associations between perceived naturalness and restorativeness. People perceive urban nature supporting diverse bird species as more restorative, having a higher potential to provide restoring effects. This paper suggests future research to have more control over other environmental factors to gain a more detailed understanding of the ecological quality of the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban areas can be seriously disrupted by flooding after heavy rain events. Therefore, several strategies based on grey infrastructure have been implemented over the years to mitigate the impact of significant rainfalls and make urban areas more resilient against flash floods. Green Infrastructure (GI) is an environmentally appropriate alternative which can reduce the amount of stormwater delivered to a drainage system within an urban area while mitigating the contamination carried with it. To date, however, relatively little attention has been paid to public acceptance and to the challenge GI may face in the presence of shallow aquifers. This paper presents a framework for assessing the social and technical feasibility of GI in a coastal urban area with a shallow aquifer. The method consists of the assessment of potential scenarios upon the assessment of government acceptance coupled with a stormwater management model. The urban laboratory for this study is the city of Hoboken (NJ) which is located near the estuary of the Hudson River. It was selected due to the availability of data, its vulnerability to flooding, and the presence of a shallow aquifer. Results from interviews indicate positive feedback for the implementation of GI, but specific GI techniques could not be identified. So, based on generally accepted GI measures, right-of-way, resiliency parks, and green roofs were considered and implemented into a stormwater management model. The model was used to simulate the performance of various GI options to minimize stormwater runoff. Simulation results show that all the alternatives considered are effective in reducing runoff volumes for rainfall events of less than a 1-year recurrence interval. However, they do not mitigate the negative impact of heavier rain events due to limited storage as a consequence of the size of the site and the shallow aquifer within the coastal urban area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans can derive enormous benefit from the natural environment and the wildlife they see there, but increasing human use of natural environments may negatively impact wildlife, particularly in urban green spaces. Few studies have focused on the trade-offs between intensive human use and wildlife use of shared green spaces in urban areas. In this paper, we investigate the impacts of humans and their dogs on wildlife within an urban green space using camera trap data from Hampstead Heath, London. Spatial and temporal activity of common woodland bird and mammal species were compared between sites with low and high frequency of visits by humans and dogs. There was no significant difference in the spatial or temporal activity of wildlife species between sites with lower and higher visitation rates of humans and dogs, except with European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) which showed extended activity in the mornings and early evenings in sites with lower visitation rates. This may have implications for the survival and reproductive success of European hedgehogs. Our results suggest that adaptation to human and dog activity deserves greater study in urban green spaces, as would a broader approach to measuring possible anthropogenic effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban green spaces provide ecosystem services that directly or indirectly benefit people, however, urban growth (especially in developing countries) generates the loss of these green areas and consequently of their ecosystem services. This paper aims to present the effects of land use and land cover changes in the last 30 years on two basic urban ecosystem services, water flow regulation and local and regional climate in two of main Latin American megacities (São Paulo and Mexico City). The study focuses on urban green spaces because they reduce the urban heat island effects, improve air quality, create habitats for biodiversity conservation, provide cultural services, and contribute to flooding prevention and groundwater conservation. A spatial analysis with the aid of geographic information systems was performed to assess (i) the urbanization process of the Metropolitan Areas of both cities over time; (ii) how this process generated changes in the land cover in both metropolises, and (iii) how these changes caused environmental negative impacts on ecosystem services. The loss of green areas as a consequence of urban expansion in the Metropolitan Areas of São Paulo and Mexico City changed the spatial distribution of urban heat island and increased the surface runoff, generating floods during the rainy periods. Our results suggest the urgent need for implementation of ecosystem-based spatial planning and ecological restoration of urban green areas in both studied cities to prevent further losses in ecosystem services and to improve the quality of life of urban inhabitants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transitioning from the normal course of science–collecting data, writing papers, getting grants–to generating real-world impacts from research is a massive challenge for many wildlife ecologists. As founder of a large research collaboration that works to improve human-wildlife coexistence in cities, the Urban Wildlife Information Network, I work at many different scales to ensure that the data we collect have real implications for urban wildlife management and conservation. Chiefly this takes the form of collaborations with planners, architects, community members and others in an "ecology with cities" context. In this essay, I provide personal observations about the current state of collaborations towards wildlife-friendly urban design, and reflections on my efforts to engage with policy makers and the community on behalf of urban wildlife. I have found the most success with a collaborative, listening-based approach, though progress has required a great deal of time and trust-building. Creating an impact requires us to stretch outside of our disciplinary silos and methodological comfort zones, but can yield tangible rewards such as protections for local species that more than justify the associated challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing stormwater and wastewater has been a priority for cities for millennia, but has become increasingly complicated as urban areas grow and develop. Since the mid-1800s, cites often relied on an integrated system of underground pipes, pumps, and other built infrastructure (termed gray infrastructure) to convey stormwater away from developed areas. Unfortunately, this gray infrastructure is aging and often exceeds its designed capacity. In an effort to alleviate issues related to excess stormwater, many urban areas across the United States are interested in using green infrastructure as a stopgap or supplement to inadequate gray infrastructure. Green infrastructure and other greenspace promote interception and/or infiltration of stormwater by using the natural hydrologic properties of soil and vegetation. Furthermore, there are numerous ancillary benefits, in addition to stormwater benefits, that make the use of greenspace desirable. Collectively, these ecosystem services can benefit multiple aspects of a community by providing benefits in a targeted manner. In this paper, we present a framework for balancing stormwater management against ancillary benefits of urban greenspace. The framework is structured around the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment ecosystem service categories: provisioning, cultural, regulatory, and supporting services. The purpose is to help communities better manage their systems by 1) allowing stakeholders to prioritize and address their needs and concerns within a community, and 2) maximize the ecosystem service benefits received from urban greenspace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization influences soil carbon (C) stocks and flows, which, in turn, affect soil-derived ecosystem services. This paper explores soil C storage in urban greenspaces in the Dutch city of The Hague along a transect from the suburban seaside towards the city centre, reflecting a toposequence from dune to peaty inland soils. C storage and C mineralisation potential were evaluated in relation to soil type and greenspace categories. Several soil-quality characteristics were measured, including dissolved organic C, pH, electrical conductivity, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur, calcium carbonate, and the water-holding capacity of the soil to evaluate what drives soil C storage in the urban context. The total SOC storage of the upper 30 cm of the greenspaces in The Hague (20.8 km2 with 37% greenspace) was estimated at 78.4 kt, which was significantly higher than assumed given their soil types. Degradability of soil organic matter in laboratory batch tests varied between 0.2 and 3 mg C gSOC−1 day−1. Degradability was highest in the seaside dune soils; however, extrapolated to the topsoil using the bulk density, topsoil C mineralization was higher in the urban forest. Soils beneath shrubs appeared to be hotspots for C storage, accounting for only 13% of the aerial cover but reflecting 24% of the total C storage. Land ownership, land use, greenspaces size, litter management and soil type did not result in significantly different C stocks, suggesting that processes driving urban soil C storage are controlled by different factors, namely land cover and the urbanization extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of ecology with cities calls for a broader scope of participatory research and pedagogical tools for engagement with urban environmental issues. Projects that take an ecology with cities approach can provide opportunities for diverse audiences, including students, teachers, community members, and scientists, to participate in urban ecology, thus serving as potential steppingstones for further engagement. While there is increasing scholarship on the value of participatory approaches for increasing ecological literacy (e.g. citizen science), less has been written on the collaborative process of such experiences, particularly the social science aspects that can lead to successful outcomes and lessons learned. This paper describes a collaborative research project that engaged undergraduate students and community outreach staff of an urban nonprofit organization to better understand social uses and values associated with a public park located on the Harlem River in New York City. We explore the outcomes of the project for both students and staff, and provide reflections for educators interested in using a pedagogy of social-ecological collaborations in urban contexts. We argue that such an approach facilitates engagement between universities and community-based nonprofits to engage students in learning about the complexity, uncertainty, and value of urban ecosystem management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) include strategies and solutions for distributed stormwater management and control. They are strongly encouraged, especially in highly urbanized areas that suffer the combined effect of impervious surfaces and the increase in extreme rainfall events due to urbanization growth and climate change. Their integration into traditional urban drainage systems can mitigate flood risk and pollution of receiving water bodies. The main goal of SUDS is to restore the natural water balance by increasing infiltration and evapotranspiration processes and promoting rainwater harvesting and reuse. This paper proposes an analytical-probabilistic approach for SUDS modeling applicable to different systems. Developed equations allow estimating the runoff and residual storage probability for evaluating the efficiency of the storage volume both in terms of flood control and, depending on SUDS type, in terms of emptying time or water needs supply. The modeling considers the possibility of consecutive chained rainfalls; this feature is relevant for SUDS, often characterized by low outflow rates. Relating characteristic parameters to a probabilistic level (the Average Return Interval, ARI) makes the formulas interesting to be used in the design practice. An application to two case studies confirmed the goodness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of rapid urbanization in China has led to various impacts on the urban ecological environment and one of these significant effects is the urban heat island (UHI). Pursuing the construction of a ecological city is recognized as an important direction to relieve the contradictions between environmental protection and city development. Yet how the landcape configuation and composition in such city development influences the UHI has not been well understood. This paper attempted to evaluate the spatial patterning of land surface temperature (LST) and to discuss the effects of source and sink landscape patterns upon LST in a smart city demonstrated at the local level in China. The results revealed that the UHI was spatially associated with the land use changes driven by rapid urbanization and gradually declines along the urban–rural gradient. When the urban–rural gradient reached the range of 7.5 to 8.75 km from the city center, there exhibited a tipping point where the combinative effects of source and sink landscapes on UHI significantly decreased. Through exploring the impact of source-sink landscape area ratio on UHI, we also found a tipping point that when source-sink area ratio in a patch was smaller than the golden separation value (1.30), UHI effect was almost mitigated because the warming effect of source area would be weaker than the cooling effect of sink area. Overall, this study highlights that controlling the optimal area ratio of source-sink landscape are very important strategy for mitigating the UHI effect during urban development and planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural conditions and indigenous culture are fundamental factors creating the hydrological landscape system of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. A study of the indigenous landscape is critical to understanding the interaction between human activities and natural processes, thereby enhancing the delta's ability to cope with climate change and to control floods. This paper uses a case study of Can Tho City (CTC) to analyze the spatial distribution pattern of the local landscape system and explores how indigenous knowledge contributes to the sustainability of this landscape. The outcomes show (1) the complexity of balancing territorial organization and agriculture needs and (2) the combination between these two factors and local knowledge of flood resilience making it possible to preserve a landscape system concerning complex hydrological dynamics, in the downstream section of the Mekong River Basin. This paper argues that knowledge of indigenous agriculture cultivation and the functioning of local landscape system should be respected and used in the process of urban design to maintain sustainability over time. A scenario is discussed to emphasize the balance needed between a human-made environment and natural hydrodynamics to preserve the local landscape system and thereby enhance urban resilience to floods and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities are considered important areas for biodiversity and host a high plant species richness. However, many factors, such as urbanisation or changes in land use, can affect the presence of spontaneous flora and, consequently, represent a threat for biodiversity. How species respond to these factors of change in cities over time is a relevant and current issue and spatiotemporal analyses represent an essential step forward to better understand these dynamic systems and to fill gaps of knowledge. In this paper we present a comparison between a floristic survey carried out in 1995 on a grid-cell for the city of Rome and a new survey, performed between 2015 and 2018, in order to verify if the species composition significantly changed over time and to which drivers this change was related to. For 76 grid-cells of the raster, each of which of 1.6 km2, we recorded all spontaneous vascular species. We analysed the differences between the two surveys by means of statistical tests on species richness, by species turnover, by generalised linear models (GLMs) and by Ellenberg indicator values. The patterns of species richness are similar between the two surveys, although an increase in the number of species per grid-cell, on average, was observed. This increase regarded both native and alien richness, with significant differences only for aliens. Many species significantly reduced or increased their frequencies, comparing the two surveys. A set of environmental variables, among which the presence of protected areas, are relevant for explaining the pattern of species' frequencies and its change over time. Our results suggest that the flora of the city, notwithstanding the steady human pressure and the increase in alien species, maintained a high level of heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green walls are a traditional system that has been rediscovered for addressing and combating effects of climate change on the urban environment. The greening of walls is one of the sustainable techniques towards green architecture, and it has become a significant part of the passive design. This research employed an integrated approach to create healthy urban spaces and improve people's overall quality of life through introducing the concept of biofacades to make a city more sustainable. Today, accelerated growth in urban development is occurring in Doha, the capital city of Qatar, including in large-scale urban developments and architecture and infrastructure projects, causing significant changes to the built environment. This paper assesses the performance of biofacades in Doha's hot and arid climate. For this purpose, four biofacade walls were installed on the campus of Qatar University, with plant species that are suitable for this region. These walls were regularly monitored to observe the adaptation of the biofacades to prevailing climatic conditions in Qatar. The project had three main steps. Step 1 involved the selection of suitable plants that could survive in Doha; Step 2 entailed the distribution of plants in four different orientations across the building; and Step 3 included monitoring, testing, measurement, observation, and analysis to determine the most suitable plants for the biofacade. The findings of this research will enable architects and engineers to formulate guidelines for the selection of appropriate plants to improve energy performance and reduce the urban heat island effect in the arid climate of Qatar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like many peat wetlands around the world, Temperate Highland Peat Swamps on Sandstone (THPSS), located in the Sydney Basin, Australia, have been impacted by urban development. In this paper, we used Illumina 16S rRNA DNA amplicon sequencing to characterise and compare the bacterial communities of surface (top 0–2 cm) and deep (50 cm) sediments in peat swamps that occur in both urbanised and non-urbanised catchments. Proteobacteria (32.2% of reads), Acidobacteria (23.6%) and Chloroflexi (10.7%) were the most common phyla of the dataset. There were significant differences in the bacterial community structure between catchment types and depths apparent at the phyla level. Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria and Verrucomicrobia made up a greater proportion of the reads in the surface sediments than the deeper sediments, while Chloroflexi and Nitrospirae were relatively more common in the deeper than the surface sediment. By catchment type, Acidobacteria were more common in swamps occurring in non-urbanised catchments, while Nitrospirae, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria were more common in those in urbanised catchments. Microbial community structure was significantly correlated with sediment pH, as was the relative abundance of several phyla, including Acidobacteria (negative correlation) and Bacteroidetes (positive correlation). As an indicator of trophic shift from oligotrophic to copiotrophic conditions associated with urbanised catchment, we found significant differences ratios of β-Proteobacteria to Acidobacteria and Bacteriodetes to Acidobacteria between the catchment types. Based on SIMPER results we suggest the relative abundance of Nitrosomonadaceae family as a potential indicator of urban degradation. As the first study to analyse the bacterial community structure of THPSS using sequencing of 16S rDNA, we reveal the utility of such analyses and show that urbanisation in the Blue Mountains is impacting the microbial ecology of these important peatland ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are numerous existing residential buildings in Hangzhou, which has resulted in considerable carbon emissions and the formation of greenhouse gases with significant adverse impacts on citizens' quality of life.. It is thus imperative to conduct a greening renovation of existing residential buildings. In this paper, we use a double-bounded discrete choice format to determine the public's willingness to pay (WTP), the economic benefits of vertical greening reducing greenhouse gases in Hangzhou are preliminarily estimated, and the factors that affect residents' payment and participation are identified. A total of 1089 valid samples were obtained via face-to-face interviews. In total, 250 (23.0%) respondents reported refusing to pay, and their data were subject to processing with the spike model, which has been proven to be more advantageous than traditional models in dealing with zero response problems. Families in Hangzhou would pay 702.55 Chinese yuan (CNY) each year. The economic benefit of such a project is valued at 1.141–1.433 billion CNY. The factors affecting the WTP are explored based on demographic characteristics, social psychology, knowledge of the environment and theory of planned behavior (TPB). The results show clear statistical relationships between a respondent's age, income, family members, views of vertical greening and subjective norms and his or her WTP. Meanwhile, feedback information was collected and analyzed, and the results show that increasing incomes, establishing a compensation mechanism, promoting environmental protection, and disclosing the flow of funds would be conducive to residents' participation in vertical greening renovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stream channel erosion, enlargement, and habitat degradation are ubiquitous in urban watersheds with conventional stormwater management that increase channel-eroding flows relative to undeveloped watersheds. Hydrologic-based restoration aims to discharge a more natural flow regime via stormwater management interventions. Whether such interventions facilitate geomorphic recovery depends, in part, on the degree to which they restrict discharges that would otherwise contribute to channel erosion. Erosion potential (E), the ratio of post-developed to predeveloped sediment transport capacity, provides a simplified, mechanistic framework to quantify the relative influence of stormwater interventions on the geomorphic effectiveness of the flow regime. This paper compiles ca. five years of data following stormwater-based interventions in three distinct settings in the United States and Australia to demonstrate how the E framework can elucidate the role of hydrologic restoration interventions in facilitating trajectories of geomorphic recovery (or lack thereof). In a previously developed watershed with unstable streams, substantial reductions in E in one stream coincided with a trajectory of geomorphic recovery, whereas the control stream without E-reducing interventions exhibited continued instability. Furthermore, a stream downstream of a greenfield development that optimized their stormwater control measures to match the sediment transport capacity of the predeveloped regime (E = 1) was able to maintain a recovery trajectory in a legacy-impacted setting that is otherwise highly susceptible to hydromodification. Streambed material size, channel evolution stage, and the hydrogeomorphic setting also likely affect the level of E reduction necessary to promote geomorphic recovery, with coarser-grained and over-widened streams potentially needing less reduction than finer-grained and more entrenched channels. Although available space and funding will limit the ability to fully reduce E in previously developed watersheds, these case studies underscore the value of using stormwater control measures to maximize reductions in E if geomorphic stability is a goal of stormwater interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban pockets, although an integral part of the urban environment, often fall into the urban vacant land category. This paper aims to point out the diversity of urban pockets through their categorization, explore the ways of urban pockets' integration into urban green infrastructure planning, and indicate the potential achievable uses of urban pockets. Six types of urban pockets in Novi Sad (Serbia) were noted and three different yet not mutually exclusive perspectives on urban pockets' revitalization – productive, cultural and social – were proposed. This study could serve as a basis for the integration of urban pockets into urban planning theory and planning practices and as an inspiration for urban planners, landscape architects and policy-makers to create strategies for urban pockets' utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the acceleration of urbanization, the urban heat island (UHI) effect has intensified. Urban green space can retard the UHI effect. However, most existing studies have only focused on hot regions, while little attention has been given to cold regions that also have summer heat protection requirements. Furthermore, existing researc has not classified urban green spaces according to the presence or absence of water, which can lead to inaccurate results. This paper takes four cities in cold regions of China as examples and studies the cooling effects of two different types of urban green space. The results indicate that in cold regions of China, green spaces containing water bodies have a stronger cooling effect than those without water. For green spaces without water, the cooling intensity is related to the background temperature and green space areas, while for green spaces containing water bodies, the area of the internal water body is the key influencing factor. Specifically, there is a threshold value of efficiency (TVoE) for the green space areas without water in cold region cities of China, which is approximately 0.52 ha, while there is no TVoE for the green space areas containing water bodies. Additionally, there is a TVoE for the water/land ratio of the green spaces containing water bodies of approximately 0.5. The methods and results of this study can provide a reference for future research and for urban planners and managers designing urban green spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underutilised public spaces such as streetscapes offer substantial opportunities to integrate habitats that increase biodiversity into existing urban landscapes and create more ecologically connected cities. Cooperation and collaboration from diverse stakeholders are paramount to achieving this because growing conditions for plants in streetscapes are often much harsher than remnant habitats or urban parks and little is known about the horticultural performance of many native understorey species in these novel urban environments. This paper describes how the City of Melbourne collaborated with researchers from the University of Melbourne to develop and test a suite of understorey plant species to increase streetscape biodiversity. To do so, we selected species using criteria from a horticultural planting guide which guided the design and creation of four streetscape plantings within the municipality. Here, we document the process and discuss lessons learnt from this project to assist other cities to design, construct and maintain streetscapes with successful, cost-effective plantings that improve urban biodiversity and aesthetic value. Key to the long-term success of these biodiverse plantings was thorough soil preparation and weed management before planting, and the implementation of a clear, ecologically sensitive management plan. To support this plan, suitably qualified and experienced landscape maintenance staff were essential, particularly those with horticultural knowledge and experience with indigenous and native plant species. Our project highlights the often conflicting needs of local authorities and ecological researchers and the necessary trade-offs needed to meet realistic goals and achieve successful project outcomes for creating more biodiverse urban landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human development and disturbances can be determinants of population viability of some vertebrates in human-impacted ecosystems. The effects on the behavior and population dynamics of reptiles are not well-studied in urban environments. This paper examines the importance of pine forest clearings, openings, and paleodunes for nesting pine snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus) in the New Jersey Pinelands, and the risk to nesting females and offspring from off-road vehicles (ORV). In this ms we 1) develop a rating scale for ORV activity that can be modified for evaluating risk to other vertebrates, 2) compare general habitat features of nesting areas used in the early 1980s with those used in 2020, and 3) examine the fate of nesting areas used in the 1980s and the intensity of ORV use in both time periods. In 2020, nests were located at only 2 of the 10 nesting areas used in 1983 (20%), and only one of the 10 was a paleodune. In comparison, in 2020, 9 of 13 new nesting areas were on paleodunes (69%). In 1983, ORV activity on nesting areas ranged from very low to medium. In the intervening years development and ORV activity increased markedly, and snakes abandoned most areas by 2020. ORV activity in those sites still utilized for nesting increased to high and very high. In 2020, ORV activity ranged from very low (7%) to very high (19%) of the 42 nests. With increasing urban development, nesting pine snakes are using mainly paleodunes deep in the forest, and are exposed to high or very high ORV activity (43%), suggesting concern for viable snake populations in the wake of continued human activity and ORV use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agriculture (UA) is an important socio-ecosystem in the urban–rural ecotone. Previous studies focused on the production and leisure service of UA, ignoring the evaluation of ecological performance, which hindered the comprehensive performance of UA. In order to better connect with urban planning, this paper selects 37 urban agricultural parks (UAPs) and 10 urban parks (UPs) in Beijing as the research objects. It discusses the ecological performance from the effect of reducing heat island effect and enhancing the fractional vegetation cover (FVC). The results showed that UAP has better external cooling effect and wider cooling range. The index of FVC showed different differences according to different seasons of UAPs, but the seasonal change of FVC of UAPs and UPs is consistent. It can be assumed that UA can be regarded as ecological land and provide ecological performance together with UPs in the following situations. First, the supply function of UA is needed in the region, and the regional land use is very tight, which can be considered. Secondly, UA can be considered when there is a need to adjust the heat island effect through the park, because UAPs have a wider range of external influence and better effect. This study examined the difference in ecological performance between UAPs and UPs and provided a basis for the proposition that UA can be considered as ecological land in planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brazilian Amazon is an area of both serious environmental degradation and social instability. Despite billions of dollars spent on economic development and the rapid pace of urbanization, deforestation is extreme and violent land conflict is intense. Although episodes of conflict over land are common in Brazilian history, this paper focuses on agrarian issues that arose with the opening of the Amazon frontier in the 1970s. The paper argues that the nature of land conflict in the eastern Brazilian Amazon is dynamic, and proposes a two-stage model to illustrate how the struggle has evolved from an agrarian phenomenon to an organized resistance that is urban-based. Recognizing the interaction between cities and rural areas in the frontier reaches of the Brazilian Amazon is key to understanding the land struggle in the face of urbanization. The analytical framework deployed considers the transformation of the region from an agrarian frontier to an urbanized frontier, assessing the dynamic nature of the land struggle and examining the implications for land cover change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]