Biodiversity

Ecologists offer scientific lessons in how to better build cities for humans and wildlife.

January 19, 2016 - Steven Snell

The City of Calgary aims to restore 20 percent of its open space to increase biodiversity. Complex nature is—and needs to be seen as—foundational to our day-to-day lives, both for our well being, and the health of nature itself.

December 10, 2015 - Steven Snell

A new online interactive project allows new access to the history of Manhattan before Dutch settlers began taking residence on the island in 1609

October 2, 2015 - CityLab

According to a newly released study by the World Wildlife Fund, the Zoological Society of London, and other NGOs, the world has lost half of its biodiversity, particularly in fresh water ecosystems and in developing nations.

October 7, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

“Across millennia [mute swans] symbolized transformation and devotion, light and beauty,” says a recent article in Wired. Not so much in New York City, where the city’s population of mute swans will be reduced to zero to protect other native species.

February 7, 2014 - Wired

Biodiversity is not something “out there”, studied in labs, outside of our cities. It is a borderless organism that resists complete solutions to the problems arising in such interconnectivity.

January 6, 2014 - Steven Snell

The short-sightedness of overarching proclamations for the right city form obscures the very context in which cities are built and expanded. City planning must become reconnected to its environmental context.

October 16, 2013 - Steven Snell

BioMap2 is designed to guide strategic biodiversity conservation in Massachusetts over the next decade by focusing land protection and stewardship on the areas that are most critical for ensuring the long-term persistence of rare and native species.

April 27, 2013 - Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built + Natural Environments

A Swedish research center has been tasked by the government with valuating the services rendered by ecosystems and educating the public on the importance of biodiversity.

February 28, 2013 - Sustainable Cities Collective

In the developed world, increased urbanization can be a net boon for the environment. Yet, writes Bryan Walsh, if not planned for carefully, the rapid urbanization of developing world could have a dramatic impact on climate change and biodiversity.

September 24, 2012 - Time

Habitat fragmentation linked with urban sprawl and development has been shown to negatively impact biological diversity in animals, according to new research.

September 27, 2010 - San Diego Union Tribune