Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

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 …

A Collaborative Social-Ecological Research Approach To Inform & Address Urban Coyote Management Challenges, Melinda J. Weaver, Anna Monterastelli, Eric G. Strauss, Michele Romolini

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Coyotes (Canis latrans) play an important mesopredator role in urban habitats and provide valuable ecosystem services, but also risk factors to human safety. Because of rare, but high-profile instances of human-coyote conflict, urban coyotes are often perceived only as a nuisance, or even dangerous, to human populations and their domestic animals. This tension between urban wildlife and communities can result in policy and management decisions that are not effective or beneficial to either population. We believe that effective urban coyote management requires an understanding of the resident coyotes in a given city, as well as the human residents’ …

Interaction Gardens And Butterfly Catalogues: A Joint Strategy To Promote Capacity Development In Protected Areas And Reduce The Extinction Of Experience In Cities, Leila Teruko Shirai, Mariana Alves Stanton, Giulia Bagarolli D'Angelo, Thiago Borges Conforti, André Victor Lucci Freitas, Massuo Jorge Kato, Lydia Fumiko Yamaguchi

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

More than half of the world’s population live in cities. Increasing numbers of generations are now born and raised in urban landscapes with decreasing opportunities towards interacting with natural environments. This extinction of experience leads to environmental apathy and lack of bioliteracy, which is a central aspect to be tackled in conservation strategies. At the same time, people who live near or at non-urban settings are closer to natural habitats but do not have similar access to concepts of environmentalism and may lack incentives to lean towards nature conservation, instead of its exploitation or even illegal activities. We here propose …

A Pattern Language For Environmental Justice: Applying Interconnected, Evidence-Based Problem-Solution Sequences To Comprehensive Equity Analysis, Josh Rosa

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

This essay examines pattern language design as a method of comprehensive environmental justice analysis. First, the essay describes common limitations of conventional methods of analysis, finding the interconnected problem-solution sequences described as pattern languages address most limitations. Next, the essay examines the potential for pattern language design, when paired with other methods, to equip local communities to more intelligently evaluate the actual equity impacts of environmental choices.

Living With Water: Documenting Lived Experience And Social-Emotional Impacts Of Chronic Flooding For Local Adaptation Planning, Lindsay K. Campbell, Helen Cheng, Erika Svendsen, Dana Kochnower, Katherine Bunting-Howarth, Phoebe Wapnitsky

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Coastal communities are threatened by extreme weather events in the form of storm surge and by frequent, chronic, or nuisance flooding. The physical damage of these events is vast and established in the literature; however, the social-emotional impacts are less well-documented. This pilot study sought to understand the impacts of tidal flooding on flood-prone communities in Queens, NY. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews (n=9) with civic science participants, we document flooding impacts, identify adaptations to flooding, and examine sources of information about flooding--including local networks and relationship to government. We found that participants are knowledgeable about and engaged with the processes, …

Using Urban Ecology As A Transdisciplinary Approach For Teaching English Learners, Elvira G. Armas, Magaly Lavadenz, Eric G. Strauss

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Teams from the Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL) and the Center for Urban Resilience (CURes) at Loyola Marymount University collaborated on multi-year projects to implement the Urban Ecology for English Learners Projects designed to implement a professional learning and curriculum model to explicitly engage students in experiences where they learn science content through investigations of their local schoolyards and neighborhoods while simultaneously advancing language and literacy skills. This partnership empowers educators to leverage the interdisciplinary science of urban ecology and resilience as a way to democratize access and opportunity for English Learner students in diverse urban settings.

Are Coyotes “Natural”? Differences In Perceptions Of Coyotes Among Urban And Suburban Park Users, Brielle R. Manzolillo, Carol S. Henger, Tatyana Graham, Nadya Hall, Anne H. Toomey

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

By 2050 more than 65% of humans are expected to live in urban and suburban areas. This shift has gained the attention of conservation scientists and managers with more focus directed on conflict and coexistence between wildlife and urbanized populations. One species that is increasingly prominent in urban and suburban environments is the coyote (Canis latrans). Coyotes have established themselves as a keystone predator with a regulating effect on prey populations, thus playing an important role in the functioning of the urban ecosystem. However, research has shown that negative perceptions of coyotes are common and contribute to support for eradication-focused …

Resilience And Pedagogy: Learning From International Field Studies In Urban Resilience In Canada And Germany, Meg Holden, Robin Chang, Rebecca Gunderson

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

What impact does an immersive, international field school experience have on learning about urban resilience; and conversely, what impact does a framing concept of urban resilience have on international field schools in environmental and planning studies? This article reports on qualitative analysis of learning outcomes related to a novel pair of international field schools on the theme of urban resilience. Our field schools took place with German and Canadian students seeking to understand urban resilience in two different contexts, one a context of urban decline and post-industrial transformation, the other a context of urban growth encountering new climate change-related constraints. …

A Socio-Ecological Assessment Of The Potential For Vegetable Gardens In Elementary Schools Across An Urban Tropical Watershed In Puerto Rico, Cristina Pilar Vila Ruiz, Theodore H. Shear, Sarah Warren, Mario L. Flores Mangual, Elvia J. Melendez-Ackerman

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

School vegetable gardens provide environmental services and social benefits that can have a wide impact in communities and cities, while preparing future generations for more sustainable ways of living. For a school to create and sustain a vegetable garden, both social and physical environment (soils) must be favorable. We evaluated 20 elementary schools in the Rio Piedras watershed of San Juan, Puerto Rico. At these schools, we surveyed school principals to identify social factors that are considered opportunities and constraints to establishing and sustaining a school garden. We also described the physical and chemical properties of the soils from the …

Transferring Water And Climate Resilience Lessons From Australia's Millennium Drought To Southern California, Deborah Weinstein Bloome, Edith De Guzman

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Southern California and Southern Australia are two regions of the world which share many climatic, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics that lend themselves to meaningful exchanges of knowledge and innovations. With the benefit of Australia’s documented experiences, California can learn what solutions worked and did not work in Australia, potentially avoiding major pitfalls. While some changes in California are already underway, many opportunities – and challenges – still remain. California’s policymakers and residents can adopt and adapt the most fitting solutions from Australia’s experience. California, and especially Southern California, can use these to appropriately and effectively respond to the extremes of …

Strengthening Wellbeing In Urban Communities Through Wildlife Gardening, Laura M. Mumaw, Cecily Maller, Sarah Bekessy

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Conserving biodiversity and advancing wellbeing are goals usually siloed in environment or health portfolios, yet compelling evidence is emerging regarding the relationship between these activities. There is increasing academic and practitioner interest in the wellbeing benefits to be gained from experiencing nature in urban parks. Here we explore the understudied relationship between actively conserving nature in urban backyards and gaining wellbeing benefits. We investigate a municipal wildlife gardening program run by a community group-local government partnership in Melbourne, Australia whose purpose is to conserve the municipality’s indigenous biodiversity. Semi-structured interviews with program members in their gardens, supplemented by material from …

Facilitating Social-Ecological Transformation Of A Vacant Lot On An Urban Campus: The Houston-Congolese Connection, Sister Damien Marie Savino

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

The importance of urban universities in civic ecology education and the transformation of urban spaces and mindsets has been little explored. With as many as 1475 colleges, universities, and communities colleges in large cities around the United States, many of which possess significant land holdings, it is conceivable that these institutions could make a significant contribution to the "greening" of cities. This paper posits that urban universities, especially those with environmental science and studies or sustainability-related programs, can be a locus for civic ecology education and can contribute, not only to the transformation of urban landscapes but also to the …

How Do Suburban Coyote Attacks Affect Residents’ Perceptions? Insights From A New York Case Study, William F. Siemer, Daniel J. Decker, James E. Shanahan, Heather A. Wieczorek Hudenko

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Understanding the human dimensions of human-coyote conflicts in metropolitan areas has taken on greater importance as coyotes (Canis latrans) have established themselves as the top predator in many urban ecosystems across North America. Though uncommon, coyote attacks on humans do occur in metropolitan areas and often receive widespread media coverage. Little research has been done to clarify how media coverage of these uncommon events may influence urban residents’ attitudes toward coyotes. In 2010, two children in Westchester County, New York, were injured in coyote attacks. In fall 2010 and winter 2011, the authors replicated a 2006 telephone survey …

Paradoxes In Landscape Management And Water Conservation: Examining Neighborhood Norms And Institutional Forces, Kelli L. Larson, Jaleila Brumand

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

With heavy water use and other inputs, residential lawns and traditional yard features result in resource consumption, pollution, and changes in biodiversity. Several studies have examined the driving forces behind landscaping practices, but few have examined how social institutions affect residents’ decisions. We fill this gap by asking: how do formal and informal rules influence yard management, and how do these institutions interact in particular neighborhoods? Our interview-based case study is situated in Phoenix, Arizona, where outdoor irrigation constitutes a large portion of water demand. Overall, informal norms and customs at varying scales more strongly influence landscaping decisions than codified …

A Structured Decision Approach For Integrating And Analyzing Community Perspectives In Re-Use Planning Of Vacant Properties In Cleveland, Ohio, Scott Jacobs, Brian Dyson, William D. Shuster, Tom Stockton

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

An integrated GIS-based, multi-attribute decision model deployed in a web-based platform is presented enabling an iterative, spatially explicit and collaborative analysis of relevant and available information for repurposing vacant land. The process incorporated traditional and novel aspects of decision science, beginning with an analysis of alternatives, building on this analysis with a workshop to elucidate opinions and concerns from key decision-makers relevant to the problem at hand, then expanded by extracting and compiling fundamental objectives from existing planning efforts and previously published long-term goals. The model was then constructed as an open-source, web-based software platform for use as a process …

Green Jobs For Ex-Offenders: The Urban Resource Initiative's “Greenskills” Program, Dylan Walsh

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

In the fall of 2009, New Haven Mayor John Destefano vowed to plant 10,000 new trees across the city, a goal that will require the close cooperation of the Urban Resources Initiative (URI) for successful completion. Not long after, the Pew Center on the States released a report that found 43.3 percent of people released from prison in 2004 were reincarcerated within three years.

URI, connecting these two challenging figures, is working with the city to achieve its tree-planting goal through the development of a green jobs program to help ex-offenders transitioning from incarceration to gainful employment. This group is …

Planting The Spaces In Between: New York Restoration Project’S Tree Giveaway Program, Claire Turner, Mike Mitchell

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Through the tree giveaway program, NYRP provides organizations between 100 and 300 trees and staff to support the distribution of trees to NYC residents for planting on private property. The giveaway events take place throughout NYC’s five boroughs every weekend during the spring and fall planting seasons. Tree giveaways set the stage for discussions about urban soil conditions, precautions to take when planting, and ecological issues confronting the city. From Allegheny Serviceberry to Little Leaf Linden and everything in between, these trees provide a beneficial contrast to the gray infrastructure of the city. These benefits include providing shade, wildlife habitat, …

Characterization Of Urban Agricultural Practices And Gardeners’ Perceptions In Bronx Community Gardens, New York City., Michelle Melissa Althaus Ottmann, Juliana A. Maantay, Kristen Grady, Nilce N. Fonte

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

This study investigates urban agricultural practices in the community gardens in the Bronx, New York City, United States, due to their historical role of helping bring peace and a sense of community to areas that suffered from violence and social injustice. Through semi-structured interviews with the gardeners, visits to observe the gardens, and a spatial analysis of community socio-demographic characteristics using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), we characterize the community gardens visited, and survey the gardeners’ perceptions regarding the benefits and challenges that are involved in the activity. The GISc analysis results showed that there is a much higher rate of …

The Impact Of An Extended Outdoor Residential Workshop On Urban Students’ Learning And Appreciation Of Biodiversity, Yael Wyner, Amy Berkov

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Courses that focus on local flora and fauna are no longer included in biology curricula; therefore most K-12 teachers lack the expertise to teach their students about local biodiversity. When teachers are unable to recognize the plants and animals in their own surroundings, threats to the environment and biodiversity will inevitably remain abstractions to students. In the summer of 2011, a five-day plant and insect biodiversity workshop engaging thirteen pre-service and in-service urban public school teachers and five undergraduate biology teaching assistants was held at a forest field station outside of New York City. The goals were to develop an …

Food Stamps Grow Urban Gardens, Daniel Bowman Simon

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Plants and seeds can be purchased with SNAP (formerly Food Stamps, renamed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP in 2008,) but most current SNAP participants are unaware. Nearly four decades ago, in 1973, Alabama Senator James Allen championed an amendment to allow the purchase of food-producing plants and seeds with Food Stamps. The Senate passed the amendment after less than ten minutes of floor debate. However, in the ensuing decades, there has not been a focused national effort to make SNAP participants raise awareness of this choice that is available to SNAP participants, nor to connect SNAP participants to resources …

Human Health & Well-Being: Evidence For An Expanded Framework Of Ecosystem Services In Cities, Kathleen L. Wolf

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Scientific research across recent decades has provided evidence of the broad array of benefits provided by urban greening. "Ecosystem services" is a concept that provides a framework for understanding and strategically generating nature based functions and benefits. Several classifications of ecosystem services have been proposed (including the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). Within the urban context, environmental benefits and services are becoming better understood and more recognized. Unfortunately, human health and well being (HHWB) benefits are often reduced to a simple matter of aesthetics in public dialog. A comprehensive research literature review and summary is being prepared to serve as a …

Community Gardens: An Exploration Of Urban Agriculture In The Bronx, New York City, Michelle Ma Ottmann, Juliana A. Maantay, Kristen Grady, Nerio A. Cardoso, Nilce N. Fonte

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Urban agriculture/community gardening in the Bronx has multiple roles, including health-promoting, economic, environmental, and cultural. These roles are particularly important in light of urban sustainability issues and environmental justice concerns, such as differential access to open space, recreation, and fresh produce in poorer communities and communities of color, as well as differential environmental and health impacts of unsustainable practices on these communities. The gardens generally help promote a sense of place - a focus for communities - which often have little access to safe parks or recreational space within their neighborhoods, and create a center for community cultural and educational …

Sustainable Urban Forest Management Planning Using Criteria And Indicators, W Andrew Kenny, Philip J. Van Wassenaer, Alexander Satel

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

This poster discusses how Criteria and Indicators (C&I) for success in sustainable urban forest management, first outlined by Clark et al. (1997), can be successfully applied as tools to improve Strategic Urban Forest Management planning. It presents updates and modifications to the original tables, developed by van Wassenaer, Kenney and Satel (in press) to improve their application in strategic planning. A case study demonstrates how C&I were used to evaluate current management practices in the Town of Oakville, Ontario. This poster also outlines the strategic planning framework used in the preparation of the Oakville Plan, and presents it as a …

Community Gardens As Contexts For Science, Stewardship,And Civic Action Learning, Marianne E. Krasny, Keith G. Tidball

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

Community gardens are heterogeneous environments that integrate environmental restoration, community activism, social interactions, cultural expression, and food security. As such, they provide a context for learning that addresses multiple societal goals, including a populace that is scientifically literate, practices environmental stewardship, and participates in civic life. Several theories are useful in describing the learning that occurs in community gardens, including those focusing on learning as acquisition of content by individuals, learning as interaction with other individuals and the environment and as increasingly skilled levels of participation in a community of practice, and social learning among groups of stakeholders leading to …

Landscaping Locally: Fostering Stewardship With Real Science In High School Curricula, Dennis J. Taylor, Mary Louise Holly, Sajit Zachariah

Cities and the Environment (CATE)

The Igniting Streams of Learning in Science (ISLS) academy engages 11th and 12th grade students and their teachers in a year long learning community (LC) experience. ISLS transforms attitudes about science in school curricula, local communities, college classrooms, and government agencies. While the goals of ISLS are ambitious: (1) to increase student interest in teaching high school science; (2) to increase the number of students pursing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) majors in college, and (3) to connect students to their local environments using methods of scientific investigation, the challenges for STEM education have never been greater. The ISLS …