The role of ecosystem services in contemporary urban planning

• Urban sprawl is often characterised as a serious land use problem. It refers to the spread of urban congestion into adjoining suburbs and rural areas, often resulting in the loss of ecosystems and their services. This chapter reviews two of the most prevalent planning strategies proposed to combat urban sprawl, i.e. smart growth (or new urbanism) and green infrastructure planning. The former is predominantly derived from a frustration over the failure of American planning projects, and is increasingly adopted among planners in North American and European metropolitan regions. The latter is predominantly proposed by ecologists and biodiversity conservationists, and has shaped conservation planning in many countries. Both planning strategies propose compact urban development as a way to combat adverse effects of urban sprawl. However, and as pointed out in this chapter, many types of ecosystem services are generated in the developed landscape, also in sprawling suburban settings. It is also important to account for ecosystem services in smart growth projects and to engage a wider set of urban residents in management of these services in order to mitigate ecological illiteracy. The chapter elucidates some of the key characteristics and propositions of both approaches and provides examples of urban designs that hold potential to work as frameworks in contributing to sustainable governance of ecosystem services.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

urban sprawl

smart growth

green infrastructure planning

ecosystem services

ecological illiteracy

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

kap (ämneskategori)