Adapting Cities to Climate Change through Sustainable Urban Ecology Initiatives
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2022) | Viewed by 4131
Special Issue Editor
Interests: urban ecology; urban forestry; climate change adaptation; urban pollution; ecosystem services
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to announce a Special Issue of Sustainability on urban ecology and climate change adaptation.
Climate change and the multiple negative impacts on the environment and society are now an intrinsic part of contemporary life. While the scale of the impacts of future warming is complex and under debate, one thing for certain is that cities, and the increasing number of people that live in them, will need to find innovative ways to deal with climate challenges [1]. The increasing frequency and severity of heat wave events (look no further, for example, than the heatwave which affected the Pacific Northwest in summer 2021), flooding, deteriorating air quality, droughts, and pest invasions will all impact negatively on the built infrastructure and human health in cities worldwide [2].
Nature-based solutions, in the form of green roofs, street trees, and parks, are producing encouraging results [3,4]. They are able to provide shade and evapotranspirative cooling, buffer heavy rainfall events, and reduce air pollution, while providing a whole host of co-benefits, such as improving mental wellbeing, providing habitats for wildlife, and sequestering carbon. With this Special Issue, we aim to demonstrate the multiple ways in which the ecological component of cities can help to climate proof against future hazards in a sustainable manner. Case studies are welcome which demonstrate innovative approaches via empirical fieldwork or modeling. This Special Issue will hopefully serve as a useful state-of-the-art appraisal of current research in this important field.
Areas of interest include but are not limted to:
- Climate change adaptation via greenspace;
- Ecosystem services and disservices;
- Urban ecology;
- Sustainable urbanism;
- Mapping and assessing ecosystem services;
- Future urban climate modeling;
- Remote sensing applications;
- Sustainable urban drainage systems.
References
[1] Hughes, S.; Chu, E.K.; Mason, S.G. Climate Change in Cities. Springer: Cham, Germany, 2018.
[2] Andersson-Sköld et al. An integrated method for assessing climate-related risks and : adaptation alternatives in urban areas. Clim. Risk Manag. 2015, 7, 31–50
[3] Maes, J. Jacobs, S. Nature-based solutions for Europe’s sustainable development. Conserv. Lett. 2015, 10, 121–124
[4] Frantzeskaki, N. Seven lessons for planning nature-based solutions in cities. Environ. Sci. Policy. 2019, 93, 101–111
Dr. Andrew Speak
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- urban ecology
- climate change adaptation
- nature-based solutions
- ecosystem services
- urban forest