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Conserving Biodiversity in Metropolitan Landscapes

A Matter of Scale (But Which Scale?)

More than half of the world’s people live in metropolitan areas and this number will only increase. Because more and more people will have most of their direct contact with nature in urban settings, the biodiversity that remains there will assume ever greater importance. In many ways, the prospects for biodiversity in more remote areas will depend on the values and attitudes of city-dwellers. Native species and the habitats or ecosystems that support them provide an array of services that people value and need. Recognizing that biodiversity is threatened by urbanization and yet also contributes to the quality of life in cities, it is important that we place greater emphasis on designing the places where we live and work in ways that accommodate the needs of other species and highlights the interdependence between people and the natural world. Achieving these objectives will require a balance between consideration of the broader patterns and flows that provide context for a given site, and careful attention to site ecology. The greatest chance for success rests in our ability to find "win-win" scenarios in which both people and biodiversity benefit. This article describes a number of possibilities for this type of synergy, and suggests ways that landscape architects might join with ecologists and other environmental professionals in this important work.

KEYWORDS Collaborative research, green infrastructure, human health, landscape ecology