I write this thesis based on the premise that many environmental problems are the result of conventional community design. I argue that conventional community designs are "anti-ecological" because they consume too much energy, produce an extraordinary amount of waste, are car-oriented, ignore any relationship with the natural environment, and reflect the irresponsible attitude of man conquering nature. However, I suggest that ecologically responsible community design alternatives do exist. I refer to these alternatives as "ecological communities". These communities attempt to function as ecosystems that conserve natural resources, are self-regulating, and produce little waste. / I present the central principles of ecological communities, and then explore the validity of these assertions. Using five ecological communities from Northern Europe, I examine the following principles: (1) alternative energy systems at the community-scale, (2) wastewater treatment and water reclamation, (3) waste management in the community, (4) ecologically sustainable landscapes, and (5) environmentally responsible housing. / Finally, I present my observations and conclusions. The observations are intended to help community designers to understand the characteristics of ecological communities, and perhaps some of the conditions necessary for these communities to exist. The hope is that these observations may assist community designers avoid common mistakes on similar projects. The observations may shorten the time designers require to transfer their ideas from theory into practice. I conclude that when compared with conventional communities--not with perfection or the utopian dream--ecological communities and what they represent can provide designers with viable development alternatives.

The goal of this study was to determine relationships between health information behaviors and population health as well as their relationships with particular facets of urban ecology.

No description available.

As rural populations decrease and cities expand, the importance of urban ecological research becomes globally significant. Urban ecology seeks to understand the complex relationships between human settlements and their ecological contexts in an attempt to ensure sustainable futures. The discipline of urban ecology is at the forefront of the conflict between human perceptions, economy, and politics. Despite numerous studies conducted in urban areas in South Africa, no one city has yet synthesized all the amassed research conducted within its city limits. A shortage of detailed ecological data, therefore, led to an extensive study of urban open spaces in some cities of the North-West Province encompassing multiple disciplines. Consequently, this study attempts to consolidate and evaluate all the existing urban ecological research in South Africa and specifically, in the city of Potchefstroom. Firstly, a comprehensive overview of South African urban ecological literature discussing the early development, research themes and the future of urban ecology in South Africa was carried out. Three hundred and fourteen publications were reviewed and categorized into the following research themes: physical environment, biodiversity, management, conservation, planning, human needs, sustainability, public participation, ecosystem services, and resilience. Secondly, as researchers have long been interested in studying and explaining patterns of biodiversity in natural and anthropogenic landscapes, many theories have been proposed on the drivers of these patterns and numerous studies compare current land-use effects with biotic assemblages. However, a much-neglected perspective in urban ecological research is the impact of the history of the landscape. Consequently, the second paper investigated the possible time lags in the response of temperate natural grasslands to urbanization and the factors driving these changes. Thirdly, a study of the temporal vegetation dynamics of urban grasslands in Potchefstroom over a 17-year period was carried out. Open grasslands, woody vegetation sites, and vacant lots were resurveyed within the city limits. The potential change in species richness and abundance of species, and the differences in species composition between these three habitat types were compared. Lastly, the fourth paper synthesizes all the relevant existing interdisciplinary research carried out of urban open spaces in Potchefstroom. This is evaluated against municipal governance and management strategies, environmental law, public opinion and the steep spatially organized socio-economic gradient found in Potchefstroom, informing the progress towards a sustainable, liveable city. The results of the literature study indicated that there were various gaps within each theme that need to be addressed in future. In the study on the effects of urbanization history on observed vegetation patterns, the woody vegetation showed important time lags in the response of indigenous species richness to urbanization. The measures altitude and the road network density of natural areas were the most frequent predictors of species richness. Results of the temporal vegetation dynamics of urban grasslands indicated that in the relatively short 17 year period most vegetation diversity indices changed significantly, specifically a significant decrease in indigenous species richness of both grasslands and woody communities were noted. The synthesis of all the studies carried out in Potchefstroom revealed an impressive number of studies carried out, however most of the biodiversity groups were represented by a single investigation only. Evaluating the results with the IDP revealed than much of the known ecological information in Potchefstroom remains undiscovered by municipal policymakers. Moreover, proposed future development is planned for some of the highest biodiversity sites. This synthesis and the subsequent identification of the gaps in our understanding and research themes will allow a purposeful and informed advancement of the science of urban ecology in South Africa and the contribution thereof towards advancing urban ecology globally. In addition, the history of urbanization affects contemporary vegetation assemblages in urban areas indicating potential extinction debts. Moreover, the significant decreases in indigenous species richness of woody and grassland sites have important consequences for urban grassland conservation in South Africa. Subsequently, the knowledge and the identification of research gaps allow decision makers in Potchefstroom to plan for sustainable future solutions and for this city to emerge as a leading role player in the South African urban ecological context. The results of this thesis could be a substantial practical aid in policy and management strategies furthering decision makers in the pursuit of the elusive goal of developing sustainable cities. / PhD (Environmental Sciences), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

As rural populations decrease and cities expand, the importance of urban ecological research becomes globally significant. Urban ecology seeks to understand the complex relationships between human settlements and their ecological contexts in an attempt to ensure sustainable futures. The discipline of urban ecology is at the forefront of the conflict between human perceptions, economy, and politics. Despite numerous studies conducted in urban areas in South Africa, no one city has yet synthesized all the amassed research conducted within its city limits. A shortage of detailed ecological data, therefore, led to an extensive study of urban open spaces in some cities of the North-West Province encompassing multiple disciplines. Consequently, this study attempts to consolidate and evaluate all the existing urban ecological research in South Africa and specifically, in the city of Potchefstroom. Firstly, a comprehensive overview of South African urban ecological literature discussing the early development, research themes and the future of urban ecology in South Africa was carried out. Three hundred and fourteen publications were reviewed and categorized into the following research themes: physical environment, biodiversity, management, conservation, planning, human needs, sustainability, public participation, ecosystem services, and resilience. Secondly, as researchers have long been interested in studying and explaining patterns of biodiversity in natural and anthropogenic landscapes, many theories have been proposed on the drivers of these patterns and numerous studies compare current land-use effects with biotic assemblages. However, a much-neglected perspective in urban ecological research is the impact of the history of the landscape. Consequently, the second paper investigated the possible time lags in the response of temperate natural grasslands to urbanization and the factors driving these changes. Thirdly, a study of the temporal vegetation dynamics of urban grasslands in Potchefstroom over a 17-year period was carried out. Open grasslands, woody vegetation sites, and vacant lots were resurveyed within the city limits. The potential change in species richness and abundance of species, and the differences in species composition between these three habitat types were compared. Lastly, the fourth paper synthesizes all the relevant existing interdisciplinary research carried out of urban open spaces in Potchefstroom. This is evaluated against municipal governance and management strategies, environmental law, public opinion and the steep spatially organized socio-economic gradient found in Potchefstroom, informing the progress towards a sustainable, liveable city. The results of the literature study indicated that there were various gaps within each theme that need to be addressed in future. In the study on the effects of urbanization history on observed vegetation patterns, the woody vegetation showed important time lags in the response of indigenous species richness to urbanization. The measures altitude and the road network density of natural areas were the most frequent predictors of species richness. Results of the temporal vegetation dynamics of urban grasslands indicated that in the relatively short 17 year period most vegetation diversity indices changed significantly, specifically a significant decrease in indigenous species richness of both grasslands and woody communities were noted. The synthesis of all the studies carried out in Potchefstroom revealed an impressive number of studies carried out, however most of the biodiversity groups were represented by a single investigation only. Evaluating the results with the IDP revealed than much of the known ecological information in Potchefstroom remains undiscovered by municipal policymakers. Moreover, proposed future development is planned for some of the highest biodiversity sites. This synthesis and the subsequent identification of the gaps in our understanding and research themes will allow a purposeful and informed advancement of the science of urban ecology in South Africa and the contribution thereof towards advancing urban ecology globally. In addition, the history of urbanization affects contemporary vegetation assemblages in urban areas indicating potential extinction debts. Moreover, the significant decreases in indigenous species richness of woody and grassland sites have important consequences for urban grassland conservation in South Africa. Subsequently, the knowledge and the identification of research gaps allow decision makers in Potchefstroom to plan for sustainable future solutions and for this city to emerge as a leading role player in the South African urban ecological context. The results of this thesis could be a substantial practical aid in policy and management strategies furthering decision makers in the pursuit of the elusive goal of developing sustainable cities. / PhD (Environmental Sciences), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

No description available.

“The city of living garbage” tours private houses in Austin transformed by their inhabitants into quasi-public places – art environments and permaculture systems made possible by urban waste. The creators of these micro-utopias collect and improvise with salvaged materials like roadside junk, greywater, unwanted animals, and half-forgotten cultural forms to cultivate habitats where undervalued things flourish. They revalue waste through a variety of practices like caring for, teaching, learning, enjoying, and tinkering. Becoming part of these relational patterns is a way to slow down and find wonder and pleasure in the ordinary, but also to act on ecological problems in the larger world. The landscape patches that emerge are lively but vulnerable assemblages that artists, activists, and their nonhuman allies belong to as local characters. By being open for tours, the places loosely connect publics that share modes of attention set on urban natures, salvageable garbage, and vernacular aesthetics. These informal institutions, non-profits, and vulnerable for-profit businesses are caught up in Austin’s current sustainable and cultural development strategies, but also share in an informal economy through their use of valueless wastes. Some articulate with contemporary localization movements that seek to reconfigure water, food, and energy production to decrease their precarious dependence on globalized economies. Others refuse the boundary between art and everyday life by recasting houses as never-ending aesthetic projects. Similarly, as wildlife habitats and urban gardens, they are thriving examples of cultivated places that disrupt an assumed antithesis between cities and ecosystems. These embodied critiques or dreams are small-scale manifestations of what urban natures might become. Borrowing from Deleuze & Guattari, Haraway, Latour, and Thrift, I attend to these places’ ecological and aesthetic relational dynamics that communicate directly through bodies, senses, and forms. This non-representational approach recognizes the contributions of nonhuman agents like plants, animals, microbes, and machines in composing affective landscapes. The writing strives to be a mode of research that is isomorphic with the phenomena it describes. It is impelled by a love of the places, people, and beings it researches; it aspires to preserve a little bit of them by redoubling their presence in the world. / text

Settlement patterns on the urban fringe can present a host of threats to sociopolitical and biophysical sustainability, at the personal, municipal, and ecosystem scale. Mexico City’s expansive growth has forced the region’s poorest inhabitants to the farthest margins in the neighboring State of Mexico, where they often live in conditions of personal hardship and settle in patterns that threaten the ecological health of environmentally sensitive areas. Following interviews with practitioners in three periurban municipalities in the Valley of Mexico, this report examines how local land use regulators interpret the vulnerabilities facing communities in their jurisdictions and presents a typology of vulnerabilities. The report explores the processes of politicization that produce and re-produce the vulnerabilities facing individuals, communities and ecosystems. Several concrete policy recommendations are made for incorporating holistic thinking about vulnerability into government decision-making, and resources are provided for further research. / text

Thesis advisor: Eric G. Strauss / The study of human interactions with nature in the context of urban environments has evolved over the past fifty years. Early writers who were able to view urban areas as ecosystems planted the seeds for what is today an important and growing movement across the United States. They paved the way for later scholars to develop human- and ecologically-based natural histories, to imagine land uses, urban planning and development in new and sustainable ways, and to reinforce the spiritual and emotional bond between humanity and nature. In the last ten to fifteen years, organizations in urban areas around the United States have begun to look at planning and development with both an ecological lens and a focus on community-based, grassroots organizing. The layers of information available for study in an urban area are many and complex, providing an immense amount of data to those who choose to study cities. This study will first trace the theoretical development in understanding urban ecosystems, touching on important themes and groundbreaking authors. Subsequent chapters will build on the foundation laid by these authors in an exploration of the current practical use of urban ecology in the field, focusing on community-based organizations throughout the country. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2005. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

abstract: Human-inhabited or -disturbed areas pose many unique challenges for wildlife, including increased human exposure, novel challenges, such as finding food or nesting sites in novel structures, anthropogenic noises, and novel predators. Animals inhabiting these environments must adapt to such changes by learning to exploit new resources and avoid danger. To my knowledge no study has comprehensively assessed behavioral reactions of urban and rural populations to numerous novel environmental stimuli. I tested behavioral responses of urban, suburban, and rural house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) to novel stimuli (e.g. objects, noises, food), to presentation of a native predator model (Accipiter striatus) and a human, and to two problem-solving challenges (escaping confinement and food-finding). Although I found few population-level differences in behavioral responses to novel objects, environment, and food, I found compelling differences in how finches from different sites responded to novel noise. When played a novel sound (whale call or ship horn), urban and suburban house finches approached their food source more quickly and spent more time on it than rural birds, and urban and suburban birds were more active during the whale-noise presentation. In addition, while there were no differences in response to the native predator, rural birds showed higher levels of stress behaviors when presented with a human. When I replicated this study in juveniles, I found that exposure to humans during development more accurately predicted behavioral differences than capture site. Finally, I found that urban birds were better at solving an escape problem, whereas rural birds were better at solving a food-finding challenge. These results indicate that not all anthropogenic changes affect animal populations equally and that determining the aversive natural-history conditions and challenges of taxa may help urban ecologists better understand the direction and degree to which animals respond to human-induced rapid environmental alterations. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Biology 2018