Whatdowethinkofourci1es?

This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation ("NSF") under Grant No. 0607010. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Dowethinkofci1esasbeau1fulplaces? Areci1eshealthyplacestolive? Domostoftheworldspeopleliveinci1es? Doci1esfunc1onlikeothernaturalsystems,suchas desertsandforests? Theseques1onshelpustoframe ourinves1ga1onofurbanlandscapes

Someques)onstohelpusdevelopour understandingofci)es
Whystudyci1esscien1callyasecosystems? Howdoci1esdierfromotherecosystems? Whatadapta1onsdoanimalandplantspecies haveinordertoexploittheurbanecosystem? Howcanyou,asastudentwholivesinacity, usethisinforma1on?

 Themajorityoftheworldspopula5onnowlivein ci5es(>50%worldwide;>65%UnitedStates) CurrentpaDernofurbansprawlisthemost ecologicallydamagingmodelfordevelopment Thequalityandcharacterofurbanlandscapes shapehowpeopleviewnature Byfocusingresearcheortsonurbanecology,ci5es canbecomemorelivabledevelopmentpressure canbetakenoofsuburbanandrurallands

LetsInves1gateanAsiancity famousforitssize
HongKong,acityothecoastofChina,is oneoftherstmegaci1esonearth HongKongisbuiltonaseriesofmorethan 1000separateislands Thiscityisconsideredbymanytobethe bestexampleofahugemetropolis

Despite its enormous population density, Hong Kong is ultimately limited by land mass and is not even one of the fifteen largest cities in the world. The largest metropolitan areas exceed 15 million people with the fastest growing urban areas in developing nations (nine) with the least resources to deal with urban sprawl.

Top 15 urban centers nine in emerging nations!

Ci1esTakeupphysicalspacean ideacalledtheUrbanFootprint
Asurbanpopula1onsgrow,thephysicalsize ofthecitywillgrowtoaccommodatethe addi1onalpeople,thereforeincreasingthe sizeoftheurbanfootprint HongKongcannotincreaseitsfootprint thereisnomorelanduponwhichtobuild thecity Mostothercityfootprintsaregrowing rapidly;considerthegrowthofBal1more andWashingtonDCoverthepast140years

Inthisimage theurban footprintsare depictedfrom 1992.The rapid urbaniza1on wasmade possiblebythe adventofrapid transporta1on andtheability toconcentrate resourcesinto densely inhabitedareas

Growingfootprintsgiveriseto UrbanSprawl
OWen,whenthepopula1onofacitygrows,so doesitsphysicalsizethisgrowthofphysicalsize iscalledUrbanSprawl Inmanyci1es,theaccelera1onofurbansprawlis drama1candarealchallengetothehealthofthe city. Thefollowingareexamplesofurbangrowthfrom fourAmericanci1estheseci1eshavegrown muchmorerapidlyinsizethantheyhavein popula1on.

The growth of cities has been most pronounced when the data are measured as changes in land use practices (sprawl)

From: Platt, R. (2000) Ecological Cities Symposium at Boston College

Thegrowthofurbanareasis closelylinkedtothedevelopment oftechnology

Ci1eshavegrownrapidlyastechnologyandthe industrialrevolu1onofthepast150yearshas createdopportuni1esforpeopleinurbanareas. Theimpactofindustrializa1on,especiallythe burningoffossilfuels,hasledtoenvironmental declineduetothereleaseofgreenhousegases. Globalwarmingiscloselyassociatedwithhuman industrialprac1ces.