Urban Nature Research Articles

Multiscale impacts of urban nature on land surface temperature over two decades in a city with cloudy and foggy climates

Multiscale impacts of urban nature on land surface temperature over two decades in a city with cloudy and foggy climates

Walking time is a major barrier to accessing urban ecosystems globally

Public access to nature is critical for human health and well-being. Ensuring that all urban residents live within a five-minute walk of urban ecosystems is a priority in towns and cities worldwide. We quantified the walking travel time to urban ecosystems for all urban residents, totalling more than 4.7 billion people. More than half of this population lives within a five-minute walk of an urban ecosystem, but there are gross geographic disparities in access, with the Global South disadvantaged. A sensitivity analysis highlighted a substantial improvement over previous analyses, which likely over- or under-estimated access due to methodological choices. Improving access to urban nature in the future will require innovative planning and design that creates new ecosystem spaces and improves walkability.

Der interaktive Leitfaden für Stadtbäume im Klimawandel – Quantifizierung von Wachstum und Ökosystemleistungen

An interactive guide to urban trees in climate change: Quantifying growth and ecosystem services // Climate change is a challenge for people and nature in cities. A healthy tree population is essential for a comfortable urban climate. Among many other benefits, trees provide cooling, store carbon and reduce runoff. The CityTree model simulates growth and ecosystem services of urban trees for different climates and site conditions. It can therefore support urban planners and arborists in the sustainable planning of urban nature and is available online free of charge (URL1).

Evaluating Nature-Positive Urban Renewal Green Infrastructure Projects in Addis Ababa: A Multi-Dimensional Approach Using the Urban Nature Futures Framework

Rapid urbanization in the Global South poses challenges to ecological integrity, cultural heritage, and equitable access to green infrastructure. This study evaluates the effectiveness of recent green infrastructure projects in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, including flagship parks and upgraded road corridors, through the lens of the Urban Nature Futures Framework (UNFF). To operationalize the UNFF’s three perspectives—Nature for Nature (NN), Nature for Society (NS), and Nature as Culture (NC)—a context-specific set of indicators was developed through the existing literature, global assessment frameworks, and stakeholder consultations. A mixed-methods approach, combining structured surveys with both qualitative and quantitative thematic analysis, was applied across four stakeholder groups: residents, park visitors, corridor users, and experts. The results indicate that while social benefits (NS) are widely recognized, ecological (NN) and cultural (NC) dimensions receive comparatively less emphasis. Regression analysis shows that education, employment, and green space use frequency significantly shape perceptions of NS and NC, while NN are more consistently shared across groups. This study demonstrates the practical value of the UNFF as an assessment tool and offers a replicable methodology for evaluating multifunctional green infrastructure. The findings underscore the need for more inclusive, biodiversity-positive, and culturally grounded urban renewal strategies. These insights are relevant for planners and policymakers aiming to foster equitable and resilient urban environments in rapidly growing cities.

The wildlife nextdoor: Socioeconomics and race predict social media carnivore reports.

The wildlife nextdoor: Socioeconomics and race predict social media carnivore reports.

Balancing priorities for a sustainable future in cities: Land use change and urban ecosystem service dynamics.

Balancing priorities for a sustainable future in cities: Land use change and urban ecosystem service dynamics.

Urban noise vs. nature’s calm: A Swiss study of noise annoyance and the role of residential green

Urban noise vs. nature’s calm: A Swiss study of noise annoyance and the role of residential green

Time, justice, and urban nature: procedural barriers to multi-species flourishing

This paper explores the ways in which urban green and blue spaces are beset by problematic governing processes that reinforce an unrepresentative and unjust environmental narrative. In efforts to operationalise Nature Based Solutions this is problematic for, ultimately, law may act to ‘freeze’ the environmental narratives that shape our urban ecosystems. In many cases the results will not adequately recognise multiple species or provide an adequate basis to learn from the self-organised resilience of ecosystems with a long history in place. In this paper we use an Australian case study to demonstrate that a once extensive plant community that was extirpated over the past 150 years is now unknown and unrepresented in environmental law and policy, despite its value for Nature Based Solutions. We suggest that modest regulatory change can act as a vehicle for more-than-human representation within existing decision-making processes. Improved representation of disrupted and marginalised ecologies may achieve the functionality needed for effective Nature Based Solutions and allow urban ecologies to flourish.

Knowing urban nature differently: undervalued nature relationships linked to community parks in the City of Tshwane

ABSTRACT Adopted colonial ideologies of ‘protecting nature’ for exclusive use by ‘white’ European settlers to the detriment of local Indigenous communities, have had far reaching consequences for how residents engage with nature in South Africa. Expanding on research seeking locally appropriate conceptualizations of nature, we ask from a landscape architectural perspective: How can local narratives about urban nature places, such as parks, support more inclusive landscape design in cities? Drawing on data collected from three phases of ethnographic research, totaling 52 interviews, and over 50 site visits, we introduce place-specific interpretations of nature benefits for the City of Tshwane. We present three identified ‘cultural ecosystem services’ centered around socio-economic benefits, gendered and generational use of space, and the extensions of home and sense of belonging. The findings show the place-specificity of human-nature relationships in urban settings and illustrate undervalued relationships neglected in landscape design, which challenge current municipal processes and legislation.

Staged ecologies: Aesthetics, nature and infrastructure in the late‐modern metropolis

AbstractThis paper critically examines a £1.5 billion regeneration project that is currently unfolding in Thamesmead, a town in south‐east London. Led by the housing association Peabody, the ongoing regeneration is attempting to transform the town into a new ecological refugium in the heart of London. One key focus underlying the regeneration revolves around the curation of a ‘wilder Thamesmead’, which is looking to incorporate new wild ecologies into the design of the urban landscape. Principally, this is manifesting in a network of rain gardens which are being transformed into new ecological infrastructures tasked with adapting and responding to the intensifying pressures of the climate crisis. These emergent gardens, however, are also being designed to perform an aesthetic mode of labour that Peabody refer to as ‘greening the grey’: an approach that is embracing a new, dishevelled ecological aesthetic across Thamesmead's historically grey and concrete urban landscape. These rain gardens are therefore merging the infrastructural with the aesthetic, straddling two key areas that the field of urban political ecology is yet to sustain engagement with: namely, expanded conceptions of agency as these relate to an ongoing ‘ecologisation’ of modern urban infrastructures, and the aesthetics of these emerging eco‐modernist infrastructures as they are staged across the urban realm. The paper works through the tensions and contradictions underlying this attempt to curate an aesthetically wild and infrastructurally responsive urban landscape, focusing on how the horizons of a liberal‐capitalist order are being refashioned under a new, duplicitous environmentalist guise. The paper concludes by arguing that the confluence between urban nature and landscape design needs to be further interrogated from a critically modified and ultimately interdisciplinary neo‐Marxian lens.

A health impact assessment of progress towards urban nature targets in the 96 C40 cities.

A health impact assessment of progress towards urban nature targets in the 96 C40 cities.

Ретроспективный и перспективный анализ миграционных процессов в Республике Башкортостан

The article presents a retrospective and prospective analysis of the migration processes that took place in Bashkortostan, as well as an attempt to regulate them by the state. A brief reference is given on ancient migra-tion and the formation of ethnic communities in Bashkiria, but the greatest attention is paid in the text of the twentieth and early twentieth centuries. The most complex and, as researchers call it, “stressful” migration flows occurred in the region during the First World War, the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War. At this time, the au-thorities have to create organizations that regulate and control migration processes. So, back in 1914–1915, bureaus, reference offices, and committees appeared to track and assist refugees, prisoners, and transit work-ers. During the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War, a whole system of work with refugees, the wounded and the evacuated population was already created. After the war and in the late Soviet period, migration processes took on the appearance of internal and were mainly inter-regional in nature and the nature of urbanization. In the 90s, there was practically no government regulation of migration, as society and the authorities solved prob-lems of economic and political importance. Therefore, migration processes had a spontaneous appearance and were multidirectional. On the one hand, labor migrants from Central Asia were returning to Bashkortostan from the former Soviet republics, on the other. Conclusion: today it is necessary to use the best practices from the past, which have been most successfully and effectively applied by the state to regulate and manage mi-gration processes, but modernizing and adapting to the realities of the present.

Innovative Exploration of Urban Nature Education: The Mini Botanical Garden Concept

ABSTRACTMounting evidence reveals a growing disconnect between humans and nature, especially in densely populated urban areas. Despite many studies highlighting nature's vital role in human well‐being, the opportunities and time for citizens to access quality natural spaces are diminishing, constrained by work schedules and urban environments. This study introduces the Mini Botanical Garden (MBG), a novel approach that involves the transformation of community green spaces aimed at enhancing urban residents' living environment and access to nature education, especially for children. Initially, a preliminary online survey was conducted to assess public satisfaction with existing community green spaces and gauge their acceptance of the MBG concept. Collaborating with local government departments and nature education institutions, we established four MBGs across communities in Ningbo city. Upon completion, various nature education programs targeting children were introduced in the gardens, including plant, insect, and bird identification, nature observation, handcrafts, and writing activities. To evaluate the effectiveness of the MBGs, 50 questionnaires were randomly distributed to local parent–child families. At present, all four completed MBGs feature both indoor nature education spaces and outdoor planting areas, showcasing over 100 plant species. The assessment results show that the MBGs have positively impacted the community environment and residents' lives, offering an easily accessible space for individuals—especially children—to reconnect with nature. In conclusion, the creation of MBGs offers a practical model for the popularization of urban nature education, addressing the growing issue of “nature‐deficit disorder” caused by urbanization and promoting a harmonious relationship between humans and nature.

Unconventional programmes to promote experiences with urban nature in Berlin

Abstract As more people live in cities, there is growing concern about the decline in human–nature interactions, which negatively affect health and engagement with conservation efforts. Experiencing nature in urban green spaces could counteract this trend. However, access to these spaces is often limited due to a decreasing positive orientation of people towards nature and for people in challenging life circumstances—an important aspect of environmental justice. This study examines seven programmes promoted by the Berlin Nature Conservation Foundation to foster interactions between people and nature in Berlin, Germany, while highlighting the importance of urban biodiversity. We identify the targeted groups, the types of green spaces used, participation in the programmes, and the challenges and enablers of their implementation. The programmes target diverse groups, ranging from the general public (Long Day of Urban Nature, Environmental Calendar, Wild Berlin) to green space visitors (Urban Nature Rangers) primary school children (Nemo), children in deprived neighbourhoods (Nature Experience Areas) to people in challenging life circumstances (Nature Companions). The programmes provide access to a wide range of urban nature, from natural remnants to designed green spaces to novel urban ecosystems. Most programmes provide direct access to urban nature, except for the Wild Berlin video clips and the Environmental Calendar as a multiplicator of nature‐related activities. In 2023, the number of participants in outdoor programmes ranged from 1400 to 42,000, while website traffic for digital programmes was approximately 10 times higher. Since 2007, 324,000 people have participated in the Long Day of Urban Nature. Policy implications. Biodiversity conservation depends on support from current and future generations, yet this is challenged by the increasing disconnect between citizens and nature, a key environmental justice issue. This study demonstrates that programmes promoting human–nature interactions, run by a public foundation in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, can complement established environmental education by engaging diverse groups, including those facing challenging life circumstances. The multi‐stakeholder governance of the Berlin Nature Conservation Foundation, involving representatives from the legislature, executive and environmental organizations, facilitated the co‐creation and implementation of these programmes with public institutions and civil society actors. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Biodiversity-friendly practices to support urban nature across ecosystem levels in green areas at different scales

Biodiversity-friendly practices to support urban nature across ecosystem levels in green areas at different scales

Exploring the ecosystem services delivered by urban woody plants at Çankırı Castle.

Urban green spaces are becoming more widely acknowledged for their capacity to offer a variety of ecosystem services, such as supporting, regulating, and cultural roles, all of which enhance the general sustainability of urban settings. Trees and vegetation have been added to many planned cities to improve air quality and slow down climate change, but little is known about the traits and patterns of urban nature and ecosystem services in smaller cities. Smaller cities like Çankırı, particularly the historically and environmentally significant Çankırı Castle, remain understudied despite their unique ecological and climatic conditions; its selection as a case study highlights the crucial role of urban vegetation in mitigating climate challenges and enhancing sustainability in semi-arid environments. The purpose of this study was to assess the woody plant species in Çankırı Castle, to identify 10 tree species with the highest importance values, to estimate the removal of pollutants (CO, O3, NO2, SO2, PM10, and PM2.5), to evaluate carbon storage, carbon sequestration, oxygen production, and avoided runoff using the i-Tree Eco model, and to reveal the relationships of diameter at breast height with these ecosystem services. The study showed that O₃ ranked first for pollution removal (31.2738kg/yr) and second for economic value ($18.0735/yr), while PM₁₀ had the highest economic value for removal ($318.0080/yr) but ranked second in quantity (11.1354kg/yr). The total carbon storage, sequestration, oxygen production, and avoided runoff of the 10 highest-ranking species were 71,300kg/yr, 3,040kg/yr, 8,048kg/yr, and 32,370mm/yr, respectively. This study highlights the key role of urban green spaces in providing essential ecosystem services, with species like Pinus sylvestris, Fraxinus excelsior, and Cedrus libani significantly contributing to carbon storage, sequestration, oxygen production, and runoff mitigation. However, species such as Pinus nigra and Prunus mahaleb, despite being abundant, have limited ecological contributions, emphasizing the importance of strategic species selection. The study also reveals that while diameter at breast height is crucial for carbon sequestration, factors like tree density and leaf area play significant roles in mitigating runoff, underscoring the need for a comprehensive approach to urban forestry.

Recognising the Fourth Nature: A Case Study of Spontaneous Urban Vegetation in Southwest Australian Cities

Urban nature exists in all cities, including spontaneous nature. Spontaneous vegetation has been well-documented in the broader ecological literature in the Northern Hemisphere in recent decades. However, the recognition of, and interest in, spontaneous nature in Australia is limited. Our study initiated research on spontaneous vegetation in Southwest Australia from a landscape architectural site analysis approach with vegetation surveys. This study created an inventory of plants in four biotope types (specific abiotic environments with associated plant communities), i.e., cracks, walls, margins, and vacant lots, in two cities. Twenty-four sites were surveyed four times over a calendar year, and 145 plant species were identified. More than 90% of the species were naturalised, with native ranges most common in the Mediterranean Basin (34 species), and predominantly annuals (73 species). Only eight species were native to Southwest Australia. Our analysis revealed some of the cultural and ecological characteristics of these sites and species, i.e., environmental histories, pollinator habitats, the temporary statuses of sites with spontaneous nature, and their potential, e.g., altering maintenance schedules to retain foraging resources. Therefore, this study recommends further exploration of spontaneous nature through small-scale site analysis approaches and at larger scales for a more detailed understanding of this, at present, overlooked part of nature in Southwest Australian cities.

Polyextremotolerant, opportunistic, and melanin-driven resilient black yeast Exophiala dermatitidis in environmental and clinical contexts

Exophiala dermatitidis, a polyextremotolerant black yeast, thrives in diverse natural and human-made environments. Additionally, it is an opportunistic pathogen, capable of infecting immunocompromised individuals, particularly causing neurotropic infections. This study examined 41 E. dermatitidis strains from diverse environments, investigating their growth under different temperatures, NaCl concentrations, and pH levels. Optimal growth occurred at 28 °C, with large variations among strains at other temperatures, from 4 to 42 °C. Growth was enhanced at 5% NaCl, though strains also grew at 10% and 17% NaCl. Growth varied across different pH levels, from pH 2.5 to 12.5. Most strains showed the highest biofilm formation at 37 °C, α- and γ-hemolysis and resistance to antifungal agents. Better growth was detected on neurotransmitters than on (poly)aromatic compounds. High-throughput metabolic analyses revealed consistent oxidation patterns across 94 carbon sources in five selected strains. Genomic analysis revealed a diverse repertoire of carbohydrate-active enzymes and pathways for degrading polyaromatic hydrocarbons and neurotransmitters. Melanin biosynthesis inhibitor tricyclazole minimally affected E. dermatitidis growth under stress, but induced morphological changes in some cases. This study underscores E. dermatitidis’ urban extremophilic nature, with high resilience, metabolic adaptability, and potential for heightened pathogenicity in evolving global conditions.

The value of social media wildlife sightings for elusive species monitoring: a population assessment of servals in a South African urban nature reserve

Data sourced from social media platforms is an underutilised resource for wildlife research, especially in studying enigmatic species. This study evaluates the potential of such data to provide population and behavioural insights into an elusive species, the serval (Leptailurus serval), from Rietvlei Nature Reserve, an urban protected area in South Africa. We collected 153 visitor sightings of servals within the reserve from different online platforms spanning from June 2011 to August 2024, from which we identified 30 different individual servals, including three long-term residents. Analysis of these sightings revealed a stable serval population with evidence of reproduction within the reserve and migration through a permeable border fence. Behavioural information from the sightings, such as prey captured and habitat use, align with existing knowledge of serval ecology. Even though data sourced from passive contributions by the public generally falls short in terms of data quality and detail, this study demonstrates that a well-supported social media community can be a valuable source of behavioural and basic population data of elusive species in a specific protected area. This approach allows for cost-effective wildlife research that is beneficial to both wildlife management and the formulation of conservation strategies.

One water in Los Angeles? Contesting the circular city through infrastructural practices

ABSTRACT Plans to enhance water sustainability by closing urban water cycles are proliferating worldwide. However, the forms of politics shaping circular water cities and what they entail for governing urban nature and space need to be better understood. This article explores technology as a site of power and difference in circular city-making by reviewing scholarship on technopolitics in Los Angeles, California and by tracing how actors in this modern metropolis under increasing water stress reconfigure water flows through infrastructural practices. To decouple urban growth from water imports and pollution, public water utilities combine centralized infrastructures in a singular “One Water” cycle and remake homes, gardens, and watersheds as components of this system. However, these dynamics and user-driven infrastructural practices draw water circularity endeavors into local histories and presents of environmental injustice, climate adaptation, and privilege. This process of infrastructural translation produces plural versions of water circularity. We argue that the specific histories, cultural meanings, and geographies linked to artifacts constitute novel “technopolitics” that harbor differing rationales of resource productivity and relations between state experts and users. The article demonstrates conceptually how technology’s material-semiotic aspects that are emphasized within circularity agendas shape broader regimes of urban environmental governance and explain their (in-)stability.