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Urban areas are dynamic ecological systems defined by interdependent biological, physical, and social components. The emergent structure and heterogeneity of urban landscapes drives biotic outcomes in these areas, and such spatial patterns are often attributed to the unequal stratification of wealth and power in human societies. Despite these patterns, few studies have effectively considered structural inequalities as drivers of ecological and evolutionary outcomes and have instead focused on indicator variables such as neighborhood wealth. In this analysis, we explicitly integrate ecology, evolution, and social processes to emphasize the relationships that bind social inequities-specifically racism-and biological change in urbanized landscapes. We draw on existing research to link racist practices, including residential segregation, to the heterogeneous patterns of flora and fauna observed by urban ecologists. In the future, urban ecology and evolution researchers must consider how systems of racial oppression affect the environmental factors that drive biological change in cities. Conceptual integration of the social and ecological sciences has amassed considerable scholarship in urban ecology over the past few decades, providing a solid foundation for incorporating environmental justice scholarship into urban ecological and evolutionary research. Such an undertaking is necessary to deconstruct urbanization's biophysical patterns and processes, inform equitable and anti-racist initiatives promoting justice in urban conservation, and strengthen community resilience to global environmental change.

Private property makes up a large proportion of urban green space and differs from public greenspace in ecologically important ways. While including private property in urban landscape research is necessary, ecologists are frequently unprepared to work on private property and thus often exclude private land from empirical studies. To address this gap and encourage research on private property, we ask: “What lessons have urban ecologists learned from designing their research and completing their fieldwork that are relevant to researchers new to private property?” We present ten common methodological and practical challenges faced by urban ecologists, with solutions synthesized from semi-structured interviews with 24 urban ecologists from 7 countries, along with public health researchers and police officers. The compiled advice addresses all stages of research, including research design, sample design, gaining access to study sites, collecting data on study sites, and sharing results. Ecologists reported that their research and sampling design were shaped by the need to work with property owners, found communicating honestly and respectfully with property owners for the duration of the research influenced success, and emphasized practicing good field safety and preparing for both routine and stressful in-person encounters. Further research and collaboration among ecologists and private property owners is necessary to improve our understanding and management of urban ecosystems given the proportion of urban greenspace that is on private property. We hope that our suggestions will help guide the next generation of urban ecologists to take up this challenge.