BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN ARCHITECTURE 4 - B

Ecological
Strategies
Urban
GROUP 7
Members:

Mark Anthony Ballos

Alyanna Pauline Gomez

Phranzynne Himongala

Crystal Marie Nifras

Nicole Shane Pacilan

URBAN
ECOLOGY
Urban ecology studies the relations of mankind
with each other and their surroundings including
cities and urbanizing landscapes. This recent and
interdisciplinary field tries to understand the
coexistence of human and ecological processes in
urban environment and help humans to build more
sustainable living. It is a subfield of ecology and it
has strong connections with many disciplines like
sociology, geography, urban planning, landscape
architecture, engineering, economics,
anthropology, climatology and public health.

Therefore, urban ecology is used to define the

study of humans in urban environment, of nature in
cities, and of the relationships between humans
and nature
Urban
Ecosystems
Any urbanized area can be viewed as being
an ecosystem, because it has the following
ecological attributes:
1. a need for enormous inputs of energy and
materials to sustain its human population
and its diverse economic activities, and to
maintain its structure and grow
2. a complex metabolism, including well-
developed webs of transfer, processing,
and storage of materials, energy, and
information among interacting organisms
and economic sectors
3. and immense outputs of heat and other
waste materials, which are disposed of in
surrounding ecosystems, causing pollution
and other environmental problems
With increasing global urbanization, the
environments and ecologies of cities are
often perceived to suffer. While pollution
and destruction of green space and
species may occur, cities also remain
part of natural systems. Cities provide
natural processes necessary for survival
for humans and other living organisms in
urban areas. Urban ecology elucidates
some of these processes, and sheds
light on their importance to healthy,
fulfilling urban livelihoods.
Urban Green Spaces and
an Integrative Approach to
Sustainable Environment
Urban green spaces as an important contributor can be
a significant part of sustainable development.
Developments of urban green spaces need to consider
interdisciplinary and integrative approaches such as
economic, political, social, cultural, management and
planning aspects to improve existing urban green
spaces’ facilities and services, and to optimize urban
green space policies
Guidelines to evaluate the nature of green spaces:
Firstly, one of the main factors in determining the nature of
green spaces is their quantity in the city.
Secondly, existing qualities like activities and experiences,
and perceived benefits to the users determine the utilization
of green spaces.
Thirdly, the functionality of those green spaces is equally
influenced by the location and distribution (accessibility) in
the whole city.
BENEFITS OF URBAN
GREEN SPACE
1. ENVIROMENTAL BENEFITS
WATER QUALITY
PROTECTION

Proper landscaping reduces nitrate

leaching from the soil into water supply
and reduce surface water runoff,
keeping phosphorus and other
pollutants out of our water ways and
preventing septic system overload.
REDUCE HEAT BUILDUP

Trees, green roofs, and vegetation can

help reduce urban heat island effects by
shading building surfaces, deflecting
radiation from the sun, and releasing
moisture into the atmosphere. Trees in
parking lot can reduce on site heat
buildup decrease runoff and enhance
night time cool down.
IMPROVED AIR QUALITY

Trees, shrubs, turf remove smoke, dust

and other pollutant from air. One tree
can remove 26 pounds of Co2 from
atmosphere and release enough O2 for a
family of four to breathe
2. ECONOMIC AND AESTHETICS
BENEFITS

PARK IMPROVE PROPERTY

VALUE

This is significant link between the value

of property and its proximity to park,
greenbelts and other green spaces.
Enhances the overall attractiveness of the
location it also increases the desirability
of these properties, resulting in higher
property values.
PROTECTS DRAINAGE
SYSTEM

The crown of a large trees is a

freestanding anti floor reservoir, in some
cases intercepting so much rainfall that
more than 1500 gallons a year
evaporates instead of hitting the ground.
Chap down the tree, and you increase
the volume of storm water a city must
manage something that especially
affects older cities with aging drainage
system.
3. SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL
BENEFITS
RECREATION AND WELL
BEING
Urban green space serves as near reservoir for
relaxation. Human has been evolving in a
natural environment over a long time; thus,
habitual to adapt it. Green spaces are
obligatory landscapes in an urban structure
that provide a natural environment and
accelerate other life events. In contrast,
unplanned urbanization, and conversion from
green to grey structures have damaged natural
environmental resources.
 HUMAN HEALTH

People who are exposed to natural environment

the level of stress decreased rapidly as compared
to people who were exposed to urban
environment, their stress level remained high. In
some review patients in a hospital whose room
were facing a park had a 10% faster recovery and
need 50% less storage pain relieving medication
as compared to patient whose room were facing a
building wall. This is a clear indication that urban
green spaces can increase the physical and
psychological wellbeing of urban citizens. People
spend outdoor in urban green spaces, the less
they are effected by stress.
 Integrating Ecosystem
Services into Development
Planning
The concept of 'ecosystem services' addresses the
Why are ecosystem services many ways that humans depend on nature. Healthy
important to development planning? ecosystems deliver many different benefits to people.

Nature is the source of life. Our well-being relies on the

bene fits we derive from it. Ecosystem services such as The concept of ecosystem services relates to both our
clean water, soil fertility, pollination and flood dependence on nature and the impact of our activities
protection are essential for food, healthcare, energy, on it. It offers a means of systematically considering
shelter, disaster risk reduction and the other basic the importance of nature’s values across all sectors of
conditions that are required for secure livelihoods and the economy and society. It also provides the basic
sustained growth. In addition, humans value nature for rationale for choosing ecosystem-friendly development
the non-material benefits it provides, such as artistic pathways, which will respect and maintain these
inspiration, cultural significance and spiritual benefits.
enrichment.
DEVELOPMENT
PRINCIPLES

Development planning takes place in many

different contexts, and has wide-ranging goals
and targets. Four generic categories of ‘bigger
picture’ goals that typically drive development
efforts can however be identified:
SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable development requires that society only uses nature's resources

at the rate at which they can be replenished naturally. Maintaining an
adequate quantity and quality of ecosystem services obviously plays a
critical role in these processes, and in achieving the global targets that are
associated with them (such as the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs)
and related development goals at national and subnational levels.
POVERTY
ALLEVIATION

The sustainable use and management of ecosystems is also key to

efforts at poverty alleviation and poverty reduction, which lie at the core
of most development strategies and plans. Ecosystem services tend to
be particularly important to the livelihoods of the poor, and their
degradation and loss can have devastating impacts on their well-being,
as well as undermining efforts to reduce the incidence of poverty. In
turn, the management and governance of ecosystem services should
promote equity and inclusion, and pay special attention to the needs of
the poor, their particular dependencies and impacts.
SECTORAL
PRODUCTION
Almost all sectoral production and output depend in some way on
ecosystem services, either directly or indirectly. While these linkages are
evident in natural resource-based sectors (such as forestry, fishing or
agriculture), they are often equally important for other industrial and service
sectors (for example health, water and sanitation, energy or urban
development). This is largely due to the important role that supporting and
regulating services play in enabling, maintaining and protecting production,
consumption and infrastructure. Ecosystem services support and underpin
sectoral output; they also typically help to reduce costs and expenditures.
Through the identification of dependencies and impacts, the use of the
ecosystem services approach contributes to visualising the
interdependences between sectors, people and nature in a more tangible
and understandable way, setting the stage for better informed negotiations.
OUTPUT AND BUSINESS
PERFORMANCE

Many development planning processes involve the private sector as

primary participants. It is therefore important to consider how and why
ecosystem services are key to business performance. Ecosystem
degradation affects business risks and opportunities and impacts on
corporate profits, production and marketing opportunities. Many
companies and industries are now recognising that considering
ecosystem services in decision-making can help them to address a wide
range of issues and topics more effectively, helping to optimise and
sustain profits, access new markets and investment possibilities, meet
consumer and shareholder demands and comply with regulatory and
legal requirements.
Reconnecting Cities to the Biosphere: Stewardship of Green
Infrastructure and Urban Ecosystem Services

The rate of urban growth is unprecedented. The Earth System has become urbanized in
the sense that decisions by the majority of the human population now living in cities affect
the resilience of the entire planet. Urban demand for ecosystem services is a major
driver behind global environmental change but the choices people make are often
disconnected from their environmental imprint in distant places. Much of urban growth
has been at the expense of the capacity of terrestrial and marine systems to generate and
sustain essential ecosystem services and is currently challenging biophysical planetary
boundaries for the world as we know it. There is an urgent need to reconnect people in
urban areas to the biosphere.
URBAN SOCIAL–ECOLOGICAL
SYSTEMS
The Urban Landscape
Often, green space in urban areas can be remnants of a
cultural landscape with biodiversity-rich habitats. Many cities
incorporate prime habitats that sometimes are rare in the larger region.
For example, in regions where land-use intensification has led to loss of
landscape diversity and habitats, such as ponds and non-cultivated
elements, cities subjected to other drivers have become refuges for
species associated with these habitats
When addressing issues of biodiversity, both urban planning and nature
conservation policies tend to focus on the establishment of set-asides
using formal protection with strong focus on threatened species and
their habitats.
Ecosystem Services in Urban Areas

Green infrastructure in cities generates a diversity of

ecosystem services. While we begin to understand the
importance of urban green areas we still have a limited
understanding of the mechanisms behind the generation
of urban ecosystem services. The most commonly
articulated link between urban green space and human
well-being in current urban planning is through so called
cultural services, e.g., recreation and health.

High human population density and limited space in

cities often result in demand for multifunctionality of
green space, where stewardship of ecosystem services
is confronted with multiple objectives, meanings, and
conflicting interest.
The Formation of Stewardship of Urban
Ecosystem Service

Increasing people’s awareness of how their actions impact the biosphere is not just a matter of close
proximity to green areas, stewardship is about getting involved, which in turn may be facilitated by
institutional designs and social movements. Prospects for governance of urban ecosystem services,
which strongly benefit from local stakeholder involvement, are becoming further limited when property
rights systems change due to urbanization.
 CONCLUSION
FOR RECONNECTING
URBAN AREAS
TO THE BIOSPHERE

The high concentration of people, the diverse preferences

that individuals, groups, business, and the state have for the
city and the various demands for ecosystem services will
cause continuous tension, which urban planning systems
should be set up to handle. The importance and potential of
urban planning also highlight the need for more research in
the resource scarce cities where the role played by planning is
smaller.

Biodiversity and ecosystem services in urban landscapes

are generated by complex interactions between ecological
processes and human activities and organization.
Green Infrastructure:
Green Spaces: Integrate parks, urban forests, and green roofs to enhance
biodiversity, provide recreational spaces, and mitigate the urban heat island
effect.
Blue Infrastructure: Incorporate water bodies, wetlands, and green stormwater
infrastructure to manage water runoff, improve water quality, and support
aquatic ecosystems.
Sustainable Transportation:
Public Transit: Prioritize and invest in public transportation to reduce
reliance on individual car usage, decrease traffic congestion, and lower
emissions.
Cycling and Walking Infrastructure: Develop safe and accessible
infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians to promote non-motorized
transportation.
Mixed-Use Zoning:

Encourage mixed-use development to create walkable neighborhoods where

residents can live, work, and access amenities within close proximity,
reducing the need for extensive commuting.
Energy Efficiency:

Implement energy-efficient building standards and encourage the use of

renewable energy sources to reduce the carbon footprint of urban areas.
Waste Management:

Promote recycling, composting, and waste-to-energy solutions to

minimize the amount of waste sent to landfills and reduce
environmental pollution.
Urban Agriculture:

Integrate agriculture into urban spaces through community gardens,

rooftop gardens, and other innovative approaches to promote local food
production and reduce the ecological footprint of food distribution.
Smart Infrastructure:

Utilize technology and data to optimize the efficiency of urban

systems, including transportation, energy, and water management, to
reduce resource consumption and enhance overall sustainability.
Biodiversity Conservation:

Protect and restore natural habitats within and around urban

areas to support local biodiversity, including native plant
and animal species.
Community Engagement:

Involve residents and stakeholders in the urban planning

process to ensure that ecological considerations align with
community needs and values.
Resilience Planning:

Develop strategies to enhance urban resilience in the face of

climate change, natural disasters, and other environmental
challenges.
Green Building Practices:

Encourage the construction of eco-friendly buildings with

sustainable materials, efficient insulation, and green design
principles to minimize environmental impact.
Circular Economy:
Promote the adoption of a
circular economy approach,
where resources are
reused, recycled, and
repurposed to minimize
waste and resource
depletion.
CONCLUSION

Ecological urban strategies prioritize the

protection and restoration of natural
elements within and around cities. This
includes the incorporation of green
spaces, sustainable water management,
and the preservation of biodiversity.

By incorporating these ecological urban

strategies, cities can create more
sustainable and resilient environments
that balance human development with
environmental conservation.