Cities and the Environment 

About: Cities and the Environment is an academic journal published by Loyola Marymount University. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Urban forestry & Urban ecology. It has an ISSN identifier of 1932-7048. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 174 publications have been published receiving 3359 citations. The journal is also known as: CATE.

Ecology of Urban Bees: A Review of Current Knowledge and Directions for Future Study

Abstract: Urban bee ecology is an emerging field that holds promise for advancing knowledge of bee community dynamics and promoting bee conservation. Published studies of bee communities in urban and suburban habitats are fewer than those documenting bees in agricultural and wildland settings. As land lost to urbanization is predicted to increase in coming years the necessity of studying urban bee populations is growing. We reviewed 59 publications on urban bee ecology with the following goals, to assess current knowledge, to highlight areas in need of further research, and to suggest applications of study findings to bee conservation. Identified trends in urban areas included the following, negative correlation between bee species richness and urban development, increase in abundance of cavity-nesters in urban habitats, and scarcity of floral specialists. Future directions for studying urban bee ecology include incorporation of landscape-scale assessments, conducting manipulative experiments and actively designing urban bee habitats.

Community Gardens as Contexts for Science, Stewardship,and Civic Action Learning

Abstract: Community gardens are heterogeneous environments that integrate environmental restoration, community activism, social interactions, cultural expression, and food security. As such, they provide a context for learning that addresses multiple societal goals, including a populace that is scientifically literate, practices environmental stewardship, and participates in civic life. Several theories are useful in describing the learning that occurs in community gardens, including those focusing on learning as acquisition of content by individuals, learning as interaction with other individuals and the environment and as increasingly skilled levels of participation in a community of practice, and social learning among groups of stakeholders leading to concerted action to enhance natural resources. In this paper, we use preliminary evidence from the Garden Mosaics intergenerational education program to suggest the potential for community gardens to foster multiple types of learning.

Urban Ecological Stewardship: Understanding the Structure, Function and Network of Community-based Urban Land Management

Abstract: Urban environmental stewardship activities are on the rise in cities throughout the Northeast. Groups participating in stewardship activities range in age, size, and geography and represent an increasingly complex and dynamic arrangement of civil society, government and business sectors. To better understand the structure, function and network of these community-based urban land managers, an assessment was conducted in 2004 by the research subcommittee of the Urban Ecology Collaborative. The goal of the assessment was to better understand the role of stewardship organizations engaged in urban ecology initiatives in selected major cities in the Northeastern U.S.: Boston, New Haven, New York City, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. A total of 135 active organizations participated in this assessment. Findings include the discovery of a dynamic social network operating within cities, and a reserve of social capital and expertise that could be better utilized.

Urban Principles for Ecological Landscape Design and Maintenance: Scientific Fundamentals

Abstract: Urban ecology is a rapidly developing scientific discipline with great relevance to sustainable city design and management. Though several frameworks have been proposed in the last 10 years, urban ecology, as yet, has no complete, mature theory. There are, however, general principles emerging that may facilitate the development of such a theory. In the meantime, these principles can serve as useful guides for ecological landscape design and maintenance. This paper aims to use the principles to conceptually frame a series of papers to follow in this special issue. The main ecological principles concerning cities are that: 1) Cities are ecosystems; 2) Cities are spatially heterogeneous; 3) Cities are dynamic; 4) Human and natural processes interact in cities; and 5) Ecological processes are still at work and are important in cities. The first three principles address the structure of cities and the change in structure through time. The remaining two principles focus on ecological processes in cities. We briefly summarize each of these principles and their roots in the ecological and design fields. Each principle points to ecological functions that can be translated into ecosystem services. Application of these principles to ecological landscape design and maintenance is discussed.

A Multi-Scalar Approach to Theorizing Socio-Ecological Dynamics of Urban Residential Landscapes

Abstract: Urban residential expansion increasingly drives land use, land cover and ecological changes worldwide, yet social science theories explaining such change remain under-developed. Existing theories often focus on processes occurring at one scale, while ignoring other scales. Emerging evidence from four linked U.S. research sites suggests it is essential to examine processes at multiple scales simultaneously when explaining the evolution of urban residential landscapes. Additionally, focusing on urbanization dynamics across multiple sites with a shared research design may yield fruitful comparative insights. The following processes and social-hierarchical scales significantly influence the spatial configurations of residential landscapes: household-level characteristics and environmental attitudes; formal and informal institutions at the neighborhood scale; and municipal-scale land-use governance. While adopting a multi-scale and multi-site approach produces research challenges, doing so is critical to advancing understanding of coupled socio-ecological systems and associated vulnerabilities in a dynamic and environmentally important setting: residential landscapes.