Urban Ecology

Description

This is the urban century in which, for the first time, the majority of people live in towns and cities. Understanding how people influence, and are influenced by, the green' component of these environments is therefore of enormous significance. Providing an overview of the essentials of urban ecology, the book begins by covering the vital background concepts of the urbanisation process and the effect that it can have on ecosystem functions and services. Later sections are devoted to examining how species respond to urbanisation, the many facets of human-ecology interactions, and the issues surrounding urban planning and the provision of urban green spaces. Drawing on examples from urban settlements around the world, it highlights the progress to date in this burgeoning field, as well as the challenges that lie ahead." Urban ecology 1 Kevin J. Gaston 2 Urbanisation 10 Kevin J. Gaston 3 Urban environments and ecosystem functions 35 Kevin J. Gaston, Zoe G. Davies and Jill L. Edmondson 4 Individual species and urbanisation 53 Karl L. Evans 5 Species diversity and urbanisation: patterns, drivers and implications 88 Gary W. Luck and Lisa T. Smallbone 6 Urbanisation and alien invasion 120 Stefan Klotz and Ingolf Ku ¨hn 7 Interactions between people and nature in urban environments 134 Richard A. Fuller and Katherine N. Irvine 8 Urban ecology and human social organisation 172 Paige S. Warren, Sharon L. Harlan, Christopher Boone, Susannah B. Lerman, Eyal Shochat and Ann P. Kinzig 9 Urban ecology and human health and wellbeing 202 Jo Barton and Jules Pretty 10 Bringing cities alive: the importance of urban green spaces for people and biodiversity 230 Jon Sadler, Adam Bates, James Hale and Philip James