Urban Ecology

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Kevin J Gaston. (ed). 20120. Urban Ecology. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978 0 521 74349 5.

Since, as the author asserts, this is the ‘urban century’ it follows that urban ecology should be a flourishing sub-discipline. It might be that ‘real’ ecologists study ‘real’ i.e. wild places but the increasing impact of the human population and the general growth of urbanisation makes this problematic on two levels. Firstly, we cannot appreciate the impact of urban areas unless we can study them and secondly, with the rate of loss of ‘wild’ places, we are going to need to move our focus. As one of the British Ecological Society’s Ecological Reviews, this text is aimed at introducing a wider audience to the aims and ideas of urban ecology.

What is urban ecology? This might seem simple but, as the opening chapter shows, there are considered to be two distinct strands. The first studies urban ecology as one would any other area such as a cliff or desert. The second takes the notion of the city and sees how its ecology is structured. Moving the debate on, urban ecology is described as a ‘wicked’ problem as in ‘vicious or nasty’ (although the more common use is intractable). Whatever the situation, urban ecology certainly justifies its existence. After a brief review of the concept of urbanisation, the text moves into a range of issues that are seen as having particular importance to the urban setting. The first of these is ecosystem functioning. Far from the negative view of the city, this chapter looks at the positive changes and the extent of those changes in the wider countryside (city impact lies far beyond its boundaries and one is drawn to the notion, in another context, of urban footprint!). We see the changes in water cycles and temperature. It has long been recognised that certain species seem to thrive in the urban environment and at densities higher than their ‘wild’ counterparts. Most studies have been done on birds and here we see the results. Taking this further, a subsequent contribution looks at species diversity. This can be a positive for many species but there also the downside of invasive or alien species which can have a severe negative impact on native flora and fauna (although there are now studies challenging this). The next two chapters depart from this, more classic, look at ecology and focus on human-wildlife interactions. The first examines how we interact i.e. visiting parks, gardening ‘for nature’ and the beneficial interactions this brings. The latter looks at the far more complex situation of urban design and how ‘wildlife’ and people are related. The example of the tree is given. In the ‘wild’ its fate is part of the patch dynamics; in towns it is related to human action e.g. pruning, cutting down, planting etc. We see that decisions made are not just ecological ones but are based on social-cultural interactions, urban politics and even garden design. The human theme continues with two chapters looking at the benefits of wildlife in the city in terms of human health – psychological and social – and the ways in which this can be achieved e.g. green networks etc. There is a very strong case made here for the benefits of an urban area replete with wildlife, not least in fostering a connectedness and interest in young people (i.e. next generation’s ecologists!). A penultimate chapter shows how nature and people can be planned for. In contrast, the final chapter brings us back to a more harsh reality where urban areas are capable of producing regional impacts. However, the message is not all bad. If we plan sustainable cities then we reduce the impact both locally and regionally and so, on an upbeat note, we conclude with the idea that urban ecologists should support/be involved in sustainable urban development (a far move from where they started!).

Let’s make a few assumptions. Most of the readers will be in urban areas and connected to education. This means that we have , on our doorsteps, a research laboratory unlike any others. At a time when any movement outside the classroom is frowned upon (with the risk assessment mantra being dragged out time and again) here we have an ideal opportunity to study ecology without too many issues. Furthermore, it’s part of many nation’s national curriculum (e.g. UK, Australia). What we need is a text that can be used to justify our decisions, help plan our work, and give us a considerable number of references to follow up when we get back. This is the book we need! It considers urban areas as serious ecology, it highlights the value of nature to our well-being in all sorts of dimensions and it provides the references we need to back up our case. I’m sure the author set out to produce a very readable review of the current state of play in urban ecology (and he has done that admirably). What he has also done, and probably had no idea of, was provide us with an excellent way of improving environmental and ecological education! All educators and student-teachers need to read this book.