Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Land Use And Human Population Density On Benthic Macroinvertebrate Diversity In A Highly Urbanized River, Maleha Mahmud, David C. Lahti, Bobby Habig

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Many studies have documented the detrimental effects of urbanization on aquatic ecosystems. What is less known is how “super urban” centers—areas with unusually high human population densities and immense infrastructures—impact biodiversity. Specifically, freshwater streams and rivers that are situated in highly urbanized metropolitan areas might be more susceptible to anthropogenic disturbance. Here, we evaluated the impacts of land use and human population density on benthic macroinvertebrate diversity along the Bronx River, a freshwater river situated in one of the largest urban centers in the world: the New York metropolitan area. We addressed the following research question: How does (1) high …

Personal Green Spaces During The Pandemic - Perceptions Towards Urban Home Gardens During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Bengaluru, India, Varsha Bhaskaran, Charles Nilon

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about unprecedented changes in a short span of time to people’s life and living. Being in a lockdown, especially in urban areas, has led to changes in the way people perceive nature around them and within their homes. Research on this topic in the cities of the global south has been limited with even fewer studies in Indian cities. To begin to address this gap, in this exploratory study we interviewed 30 residents of Bengaluru, India to understand how they perceived the changes they experienced in their home gardens and in the nature around their …

Vulnerability Assessment Of Urban And Peri-Urban Areas In Dhaka: Exploring Ecosystem Service Loss, Md Tousif Tanzir, Kh Shakibul Islam, Md. Raihanul Islam, Hasan M. Abdullah, Abdul Kaium Tuhin

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Rapid unplanned development, a primary cause of urban change, endangers ecosystems greatly. Quantifying ecosystem services helps portray the declining ecological functions caused by the urban land cover change. Dhaka, one of the most densely populated cities in the world, exerts little effort toward sustainability; affecting both the inner city and the outer periphery (peri-urban area) called extend Dhaka (5 km buffer from the city's border). This study examines Dhaka's urban growth impact on ecosystem service values (ESV) from 2004-2020 and projects these impacts to 2050, considering three scenarios: business as usual (BAU), conservation, and development. We employed Landsat images, different …

Influence Of Community Characteristics On Urban Forest Management Programs In New York State, J. Rebecca Hargrave, Rick W. Harper, Brett J. Butler, Jamie T. Mullins

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

US state and federal urban forest management agencies endeavor to support municipal forestry programs. However, the variation in programs within and among states may complicate support delivery. Municipal programs are often categorized by population size and community affluence to identify common characteristics and needs and facilitate support. To describe local urban forest management programs in New York State, a survey of municipalities gathered information on urban forest management program components, intentions, and needs. In addition to examining the contributions of population size and affluence, this study also evaluated the influence of metropolitan areas on programs in small municipalities and compared …

The Importance Of Urban Eco-Gardens For Biodiversity And Human Sustainability: A Case Study From Palestine, Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, Mohammad H. Najajrah, Elias N. Handal, Johanna Gideon, Mohammed A. Abusarhan, Ruediger Prasse

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

The situation in Palestine is of concern where global threats of climate change, overexploitation, habitat destruction, invasive species, and pollution are compounded by occupation and conflict. Thus, almost 1/3^rd of vascular plant species are rare and over 50 are listed as endangered or rare based on their abundance and presence in grids studied earlier. Here, we describe the development of a conservation botanic garden that works via research, education, and direct in situ and ex situ conservation of plant species. The garden now boasts 381 species of vascular plants (63 are rare). The team scientifically and selectively introduced some …

Applying Asset Management Principles To Urban Natural Areas In Portland, Patrick R. Key

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Portland, Oregon’s Parks & Recreation Bureau has developed a protocol to assess our managed natural areas using an asset management framework. We utilized traditional asset management best practices to create a rapid, actionable protocol that also establishes parity between natural asset assessments and our existing inventory of built asset assessments, such as playgrounds, bridges, and trails. The results of these natural area assessments will help inform resource allocation, planning for future fiscal needs, and prioritization of on-the-ground interventions.

Prioritizing Control Of Lesser Celandine (Ficaria Verna) In Deciduous Forests In Indianapolis, In, Kevin Tungesvick, Spencer A. Goehl, Donald R. Miller

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) is an aggressive ephemeral perennial native to Europe and western Asia that invades floodplains and mesic forests. It has been recorded to escape from cultivation throughout the eastern deciduous forest and has become abundant in many riparian areas in the Mid Atlantic, Great Lakes, and Ohio Valley. It emerges earlier than most native vernal flora and forms a dense mat that replaces the less aggressive native spring ephemeral community. Control efforts on floodplains are often unsuccessful due to floodwater transport of upstream propagules. Eco Logic LLC, a local ecological restoration firm, worked with Indy …

City Of Houston Nature Preserve Ordinance, Kelli Ondracek, Cassidy Kempt

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

The City of Houston’s Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) created a first-of-its-kind Nature Preserve Ordinance to protect existing natural habitat within 26 parks totaling 7,423 acres of land. The purpose of this ordinance is to preserve and protect, in perpetuity, city-owned natural areas by regulating public use and development of these lands. The policy protects threatened ecosystems, important water resources, and locally rare plant and wildlife populations.

Beyond Tree Planting In Urban Forest Climate Adaptation Actions, Michael T. Yadrick Jr., Lisa A. Ciecko, Weston Brinkley

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Forests in cities, and the communities that steward and benefit from them, face significant disruption due to climate change. It is now time to build the capacity in our institutions and in forested natural areas to help navigate multiple overlapping crises and systems change. This case study from Seattle, Washington provides perspective on how to mitigate climate change beyond tree planting.

Developing A Protocol For Assessing Natural Area Function In Portland, Oregon, Christa Von Behren

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

The Revegetation Program at the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services aims to use active adaptive management to steward natural areas in our portfolio, but we have lacked an adequate monitoring protocol to effectively implement this approach. We spent three years developing and testing a functional assessment protocol to assess progress toward management goals and to infer performance of different ecological functions. We completed our first data collection during the field season of 2022.

Land Protection And Habitat Restoration As Catalysts For Sustained Community Engagement At The Roslindale Wetlands Urban Wild, Paul Sutton, Nicholas P. Long, Taylor Andrews, Erica A. Holm

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

The Roslindale Wetlands “Urban Wild,” a 10-acre forested wetland in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, is the backdrop for a compelling story of land preservation and habitat restoration as primary drivers for sustained community engagement. Originally identified for residential development, this patchwork of City and private land was long neglected and degraded by incompatible adjacent development and illegal dumping. In 2005, the community group Roslindale Wetlands Task Force (RWTF) was formed to start the long, gradual process of cleaning up and advocating for full preservation of the site. However, between 2019 and 2023, an alignment of several strategic joint planning …

Second Addenda To The Special Issue: The Science And Practice Of Managing Forests In Cities, Sam W. Lawson, Sophie Plitt

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

In this second set of addenda to our first special issue, The Science and Practice of Managing Forests in Cities, we present seven new case studies documenting approaches to evaluating, managing, and protecting forested natural areas in cities across the U.S. These case studies were presented at the fourth gathering of the Forests in Cities network which took place in Miami-Dade County, Florida in February, 2024.

Assessment Of Miami-Dade County Environmentally Endangered Lands Located Within Or Adjacent To Miami-Dade County Parks, James G. Duncan

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Public interactions with urban forests can be a contentious issue and, in many cases, the protection of resources takes a backseat to stakeholders’ desire to use areas in ways that diminish the capability to manage resources and causes unintended consequences or direct impacts to sensitive resources. The assessment of impacts to sensitive forested areas located in parks was part of a Miami-Dade County legislative directive to provide enhanced guidelines for the protection of natural habitats. The assessment detailed historical and current issues at 18 environmental preserves located in or adjacent to the County’s park system and an implementation strategy for …

Blue Spaces As Social Spaces: Measuring The Uses And Values Of Urban Waterfronts, Anne H. Toomey, Monica Palta, Michelle Johnson, Jason Smith, Elizabeth Balladares, Novem Auyeung, Erika Svendsen, Rob Pirani, Georgina Cullman, Julia Corrado, Lindsay Campbell

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Due to a combination of climate change-driven threats and economic opportunities, cities across the world are investing billions of dollars in waterfront infrastructure and coastal restoration. Urban planners and park managers are often tasked with designing and programming blue spaces to maximize ecosystem services (ES) for local users. However, it is not always clear which ES are most valued, and by whom. Thus, the design of urban waterfronts presents challenges in identifying how communities engage with these spaces and how new planning might alter such uses if not accounted for. This paper describes a Rapid Social Assessment (RSA) methodology that …

Evaluating The Impact Of Trees On Residential Thermal Conditions In Los Angeles Using Community Science, Edith B. De Guzman

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

As the planet warms, heat-vulnerable communities in cities face increased heat-related risks including lost productivity, reduced learning outcomes, illness, and death. Despite the growing threat of heat, effective approaches to alleviate urban heat are available. Tree planting has received investment in a growing number of cities around the world, but there are significant gaps in our understanding of the cooling potential of trees in the urban context, particularly the impacts on indoor spaces where urban dwellers spend most of their time. Our study engaged community scientists in Los Angeles County, USA to collect data on the impacts of trees on …

Effects Of Water Application Rates And Sawdust Biochar On The Physicochemical Properties Of Soil And Performance Of Five Tree Species Used In Urban Landscaping In Ondo, Nigeria, Ayodeji Adeyemi Ogunwole, Samuel Ohikhaena Agele Prof., Oluyemisi Dorcas Ogunwole

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

This study assessed the response to irrigation rate and the minimum irrigation rate for optimum growth of seedlings of five tropical tree species used in urban landscaping in Ondo, Nigeria. The study also evaluated the effects of irrigation rate and sawdust biochar on growth attributes and biochemical constituents of the seedlings and the changes in the physical and chemical properties of the soil on which the tree seedlings were grown. Seedlings of five tree species, Bauhinia monandra, Delonix regia, Terminalia catappa, Dypsis lutescens, and Veitchia merrillii, were subjected to six treatments as follows; The first three treatments comprised of seedlings …

Commentary On Producing Environmental Information From Stakeholder Engagement, Josh Rosa

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

This article provides practice-informed advice, guided by and responsive to theory, for policymakers who seek to improve their environmental policies by generating their own informational value from their interactions with stakeholders. First, the article explains a self-reinforcing opaqueness of conventional environmental policymaking and how this opaqueness disproportionately and cumulatively impacts underrepresented communities. Drawing from the literature of social ecology, political economy, and political methodology, the article adumbrates opaqueness’ contributions to environmental injustice and identifies potential benefits of a more informative approach to stakeholder engagement. Next, the article explains specific methods that policymakers can use to convert stakeholder input into greater …

Land Change Modeler For Evaluating Urbanization Driven By Universities In The Periurban Area Of Yogyakarta City, Indonesia, Sintha P.W. Gunawan, Takashi Machimura, Takanori Matsui Dr., Xiangyun Shi, Chihiro Haga

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Yogyakarta City and its peri urban areas have experienced a rapid land cover change in the last two decades from non-urban to urban areas. Understanding the driving factors and their level of influence will facilitate well-informed decisions in planning sustainable urbanization. This study formulated a hypothesis that the area hosting a university is most likely to have higher urban area and urbanization rate and verified it by using a land change model (LCM). The LCM which implemented a multi-layer perceptron algorithm using LANDSAT 5 TM in 1999 and 2005 successfully produced a robust land change model with accuracy rate of …

Sustaining Urban Forests In Post-Industrial Cities: Place Attachment, Ecology, And Stewardship Potential, Paige S. Warren, Robert L. Ryan, Brenda K. Bushouse, Krista Harper, Kristina Stinson

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

People value urban green spaces for enjoying nature and socializing with friends, family, and other park users. However, overgrown urban forests without clear access points can be perceived as dark, dangerous, and wild places. As many cities experience reduced budgets, they struggle to maintain green spaces established in more prosperous times. We conducted a descriptive analysis of how constrained parks budgets and subsequent city decisions about maintenance are associated with patterns of forest use, place attachment, and social capital and their impacts on the potential for stewardship of forested parks. We selected Springfield, Massachusetts for our study because it is …

Relationship Between Pedestrian Activity And Avian Body Condition During Fall Migration, Laura Marsh, David A. Aborn

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Many North American landbirds undergo biannual migrations, which are energetically costly. Quality stopover sites are crucial to avian survival, as they provide opportunities to quickly replenish fat stores, rest, and avoid predation. One component of habitat quality that is often overlooked is the level of pedestrian activity, which birds may interpret as a predatory threat. If intrusion levels are high, birds will flush repeatedly and may not adequately restore energy reserves, which hinders successful migration. We compared body mass index between birds at different intrusion levels, testing the hypothesis that birds near continuous intrusion will be in poorer condition. Results …

Fifteen Years Of Fragmentation And Land Cover Change In India’S Ten Largest Cities – A Google Earth Engine Analysis, Shivani Agarwal, Preeti Rao, Harini Nagendra

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Urbanization is one of the most transformative drivers of global environmental change today, with India representing one of the fastest urbanizing countries. We map the urban expansion of India’s ten largest cities from 2001 to 2016, through a regression tree classification of Landsat data in Google Earth Engine. Indian cities are growing through sprawl, and simultaneously densifying through in-filling. In Delhi, Mumbai and Pune, urban growth is multinucleated, aggregating to form a larger urban region. However, the dominant pattern in most cities is mono-nucleated growth via edge-expansion. The colonial signature is visible in many cities such as Bangalore, where due …

Community Garden As A Context For Civic Ecology: A Multidisciplinary Project In Restoration And Environmental Education, Mary Leou, Tania Goicoechea, Bethany Kogut

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

This paper describes a civic ecology program called Bees Alive! developed by the NYU Wallerstein Collaborative for Urban Environmental Education & Sustainability over three years to establish a native plant pollinator garden in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York. The project brought together a large university, public schools, non-profit organizations and a community garden called Lentol Garden to support wildlife and create an outdoor classroom to educate the public about the importance of pollinators. The garden was utilized as a context for civic ecology, environmental education and stewardship. Theories of place-based education and experiential learning were incorporated in designing this long-term project …

Inclusive Community Engagement And "Cradle To Career" Strategies For Urban Forest Management, Randy Strobo, Bennett Knox

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

In the United States, the conservation movement's problematic historical relationship with racism, settler colonialism, and land use discrimination has led to distrust and apprehension towards environmental management and leadership. With its history of redlining and environmental racism, Louisville is no different. Providing job and management opportunities to historically marginalized people can provide economic opportunities and help heal the disconnect between healthy natural areas and healthy people. The City of Louisville has employed several long-term strategies to attract people in historically marginalized communities to job opportunities in Louisville's natural areas. However, those strategies have only been moderately successful to date. The …

Langdon Park Forest Patch: How Three Women Turned Their Tree Rescue Efforts Into A Public-Private Partnership In Community-Based Forest Stewardship., James Woodworth, Kelly Collins Choi, Robert Corletta, Delores Bushong, Mary Pat Rowan, Allison Clausen

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, community tree activists engaged in tree rescue activities in Washington, D.C.’s Langdon Park. They cleared non-native invasive vines and cataloged native tree species within the park’s 2.2-acre forest patch. Over the last 2+ years, they endeavored to share their story of forest stewardship, garnering support from district agencies and local non-profit Casey Trees. The ensuing collaboration has led to a healthier forest with greater community connection.

Addenda To The Special Issue: The Science And Practice Of Managing Forests In Cities, Sophie Plitt, Clara C. Pregitzer

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

In these addenda to our first special issue, The Science and Practice of Managing Forests in Cities, we present five new case studies documenting approaches to conserving, managing, and building an equitable workforce for Forested Natural Areas in cities across the U.S. These case studies were presented at the third annual gathering of the Forests in Cities network which took place in Seattle, Washington in November, 2022.

Assessing Invasive Plant Species In Louisville’S Urban Forest, Elizabeth Winlock

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Within Louisville, KY’s network of urban green space and forests, invasive plant management is vital to protecting biodiversity and allowing native species to thrive. Partners across the city have been working to identify non-native invasive species, map their spread, monitor how they affect native species, and mitigate damage from invasive plants. Much of that falls into three categories:

1) Mapping patterns of invasive plant presence in relation to disturbance

2) Recording the effects of various management practices and

3) Tracking forest health through the regeneration of native tree seedlings and saplings

This data is used to inform management plans and …

Perpetual Protection For Atlanta’S High-Quality Forested Land In The City, Kathryn A. Evans, Anthony J. Giarrusso, David Zaparanick

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Unlike most major U.S. cities, developed and industrialized decades earlier, Atlanta retains a large portion of its native and originally forested land with a high diversity of species, rare plants, and even old-growth trees. A 2008 baseline canopy analysis found that while the city’s tree canopy cover was among the highest in the country (47.9%), its canopy and high-quality forests were vulnerable to loss and fragmentation since only 4.9% of the canopy was on public land. In 2016, the city authorized the use of its Tree Trust Fund to purchase high-quality forested land for perpetual protection and established criteria for …

Ecological Benefits Of Creating Stormwater Wetlands And Woodlands In Philadelphia, Pa, Richard Anthes Jr., Aelin Compton, Luke Rhodes

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Urban development and wetland loss have negatively impacted water quality. Natural areas and systems can help mitigate those impacts. With over two centuries of utilizing the Schuylkill River as a source of drinking water, Philadelphia has adapted from land preservation to wetland creation to achieve sediment Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) standards. This case study highlights how the innovation of constructed stormwater wetlands coupled with the restoration of forested natural areas provides water quality and ecological benefits.

Leveraging Community Support To De-Vine New Haven’S Natural Areas, Danica Doroski, Christopher Ozyck, Colleen Murphy-Dunning

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

This case study discusses the Urban Resources Initiative’s efforts to remove invasive vines from natural areas in New Haven, CT. The Urban Resources Initiative (URI) is the primary urban forestry organization in New Haven, and community engagement is a key feature of their programming. Working with a combination of local stewardship groups (“Community Greenspace”) and a workforce program (“GreenSkills”) for previously incarcerated individuals and teens, URI began hosting vine removal workdays in New Haven’s parks as a way to both protect critical components of the city’s forest canopy and build interest and investment in the city’s natural areas.

Ichthyofauna Of The Los Angeles River, Sabrina L. Drill, Jason Post, Rosi Dagit, Andres Aguilar

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

The Los Angeles River is a highly modified urban system. Upper tributaries of the watershed are located in Angeles National Forest and are in a relatively natural state, but below the forest boundary the tributaries and the mainstem consist of a series of completely channelized sections with a concrete bottom that includes a low-flow channel and vertical walls, sections where there are graded berms and a substrate that was either not stabilized with a concrete substrate, or where enough sediment has accumulated to provide a “soft-bottom” with vegetation, boulders, and variation in flow, and off-channel impoundments. Here we provide the …