Ecology in Urban Development

Abstract

Changes to ecosystems due to human activity have occurred more quickly in the previous 65 years than at any other period in history, this has resulted in an irreversible loss in biodiversity worldwide. A direct consequence is a decrease in ecosystem services - the benefits for humans that are provided by ecology - which are needed to keep especially cities liveable places. It is therefore crucial that cities are going to be developed more sustainably. Several theories acknowledge that for sustainable urban development, a shift is needed from a fragmented approach to a systematic approach to development. Therefore, this thesis has studied the potential of systems thinking to make ecology more important in the process of urban development. This has been done through document analysis and semi-structured interviews, which clarified how ecology is approached in the current process. It emphasized the current socio-technical landscape we are in, where ecology is still something that is controlled by humans and where urban ecology is not acknowledged as a distinct urban system. The interviews have been used to indicate the challenges and opportunities for systems thinking to change this landscape. This has formed the foundation of preliminary recommendations that have been validated through a workshop. Challenges like other interests, soft concept and no value can be overcome by various niche developments, tools that help in quantifying or monetising ecology so a value can be created that is interesting for developers, or help can be given to municipalities to set requirements on ecology. Using these tools, the context and its systems should always be considered for ecology not to be reduced to technical features, and no optimal ecological change can be created. Tools should also be used in a pre-initiative phase, where core challenges in an area, main drivers of developers and common goals of stakeholders can be established. Involving a wide range of stakeholders influences people to think more broadly and deeply about themes. Especially involving ecologists and maintenance departments in the design phase can create flexible designs that are future-proof and implemented successfully. Besides, ecologists, who know how to use language and create more chances in ecology instead of burdens and relate ecology to other themes, should be involved throughout the different phases of urban development as they often can make it more interesting for other disciplines. This eventually benefits the desired transition towards a landscape where the paradigm around urban ecology is entirely accepted, which results in the perception of ecology as something that is equal to humans and is therefore always on an equal level or even more important as the social and economic system ultimately benefitting the loss of biodiversity.