Lines of Tradition and Recent Approaches to Urban Ecology, Focussing on Germany and the USA

Abstract

This article draws a line from historical concepts of different urban ecology traditions to recent approaches of urban ecology. The overview presented here emphasises the following two aspects: 1. Urban ecology traditions have a close connection to the scientific and social context of their time as well as to the prevailing urban structures; 2. urban ecology research approaches have undergone a "scaling-up", i.e., approaches on different scales and from different time periods superimpose and permeate each other today. Cities and urban agglomerations are now addressed as complex evolving socio-ecological systems. Thus, a comprehensive approach to urban ecology is called for, one comprised of different research disciplines that integrates diverse research perspectives and motives. Despite a large leap ahead in understanding the linkages between cities and ecology in recent years, many questions remain in respect to an urban-ecological theory and to the practical application of the complex recent insights, such as: How will climate change and social and technological transformations affect urban biodiversity? How can synergies be found, e.g., between nature protection, flood prevention, and recreation in urban areas?