Abstract
Urban sustainability discourse promotes the increased use of green infrastructure (GI) because of its contribution of important ecosystem services to city dwellers. Under this vision, all urban green spaces, including those at the household scale, are valued for their potential contributions to a city’s social-ecological functioning and associated benefits for human well-being. Understanding how urban residential green spaces have evolved can help improve sustainable urban planning and design, but it requires examining urban processes occurring at multiple scales. The interaction between social structures and ecological structures within the subtropical city of San Juan, the capital and the largest city of Puerto Rico, has been an important focus of study of the San Juan ULTRA (Urban Long-Term Research Area) network, advancing understanding of the city’s vulnerabilities and potential adaptive capacity. Here we provide a synthesis of several social-ecological processes driving residential yard dynamics in the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico, through the evaluation of empirical findings related to yard management decisions, yard area, and yard services. We emphasize the role of factors occurring at the household scale. Results are discussed within the context of shrinking cities using an integrated, multi-scalar, social-ecological systems framework, and consider the implications of household green infrastructure for advancing urban sustainability theory.
Highlights
IntroductionThe development of sound strategies for the management of green infrastructure (GI) in cities is increasingly linked to current visions of urban adaptive capacity and resilience planning [1,2]
We provide a synthesis of several social-ecological processes driving residential yard dynamics in the Río Piedras Watershed (RPWS) located in the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico, through the evaluation of empirical findings related to yard management decisions, yard area, and yard services
Recommended management practices for bolstering sustainability in residential yards often include strategies that minimize the ecological footprint of households, as well as the planting of trees and woody vegetation, the use of native and food species, and dematerialization approaches that lead to a limited use of pesticides, fertilizers and water [55]
Summary
The development of sound strategies for the management of green infrastructure (GI) in cities is increasingly linked to current visions of urban adaptive capacity and resilience planning [1,2]. Whether urban or rural, offer humans a variety of ecological services that contribute to human well-being and security [3,4,5], typically at localized scales directly experienced by individuals. From an urban sustainability and adaptive capacity perspective, domestic yards, when managed appropriately, could provide residents with mitigation against island heat, storm-attenuation services, cultural services like place-making and nature fulfillment, and even health benefits such as the production of food and medicinal plants, among other things [9,10]. Understanding what factors may lead to changes in these spaces must be a priority to ensure that urban GI planning leads to sustainable cities
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
