Proposing and demonstrating the ways in which we need to rethink urban green spaces as cities, societies and environments evolve, renowned scholar Cecil C. Konijnendijk explores urban green spaces as essential parts of cities. Chapters offer a comprehensive look at how their roles have changed over time and will continue to do so, moving from their conventional purpose as areas for recreation to become spaces contributing to climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation and economic development.

Proposing and demonstrating the ways in which we need to rethink urban green spaces as cities, societies and environments evolve, renowned scholar Cecil C. Konijnendijk explores urban green spaces as essential parts of cities. Chapters offer a comprehensive look at how their roles have changed over time and will continue to do so, moving from their conventional purpose as areas for recreation to become spaces contributing to climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation and economic development. This timely and innovative book argues that we need to rethink the ways in which we govern, design, plan and manage green spaces, as well as the funding of different kinds of green spaces and the narratives around what green spaces can and cannot do. Using a diverse range of case studies from across the globe, Konijnendijk offers practical suggestions for change in the future to make cities greener and healthier, and introduces new green space concepts such as urban groves and streetwoods. This is an invigorating read for students and scholars of urban planning, landscape architecture, urban ecology and urban studies. Urban green space planners, designers and managers will also find the wealth of cases and practical suggestions make this an insightful read.

Sustainable urbanization has moved to the forefront of political debate and policy agendas for numerous reasons. Among the most important are a growing appreciation both of the implications of rapid urbanization now occurring in China, India, and many other low and middle income countries with historically low urbanization levels and of the related challenges posed to urban areas worldwide by climate and environmental change. Conceptualizing urban sustainability for this new era, this compact book makes a clear contribution to the sustainable urbanization agenda through authoritative interventions that contextualize, assess, and explain the importance of three central characteristics of sustainable towns and cities everywhere: that they should be fair, green, and accessible.

There is an under-recognized potential for cities to use urban green infrastructure to contribute to avian biodiversity conservation. At the global scale, climate change and growing urbanization are primary global drivers leading to decline and homogenization in world bird populations. Birds are fundamental and intricate species in ecosystems, and even in urban areas, act as indicator and regulator species contributing to healthy ecosystem function. While many cities have recognized the economic and social benefits associated with green spaces, such as the vast benefits ecosystem services provide to the urban dweller, the use of green spaces to concurrently contribute to avian conservation through habitat provisioning is currently deficient. This research provides a global comparative analysis to determine crucial variables in urban green spaces necessary to provide ecosystem services for the urban dweller while simultaneously supporting urban bird populations, particularly forest, grassland, and generalist bird species. It pushes for reform in existing management, norms, and principles that restrict green spaces' contribution towards avian conservation and acts as an ecological and conservation dialogue for policy makers, design-build and related professionals, and urban residents. The necessary abiotic, biotic, design, and management variables for urban forests and parks, residential gardens, and green roofs to support avian diversity are discussed, and management strategies and approaches are defined. Using these green spaces has the potential to create valuable avian habitat within our urban areas, which is increasingly important in light of growing urbanization and changing climatic conditions.

Urban slum dwellers—especially in emerging-economy countries—are often poor, live in squalor, and suffer unnecessarily from disease, disability, premature death, and reduced life expectancy. Yet living in a city can and should be healthy. Slum Health exposes how and why slums can be unhealthy; reveals that not all slums are equal in terms of the hazards and health issues faced by residents; and suggests how slum dwellers, scientists, and social movements can come together to make slum life safer, more just, and healthier. Editors Jason Corburn and Lee Riley argue that valuing both new biologic and “street” science—professional and lay knowledge—is crucial for improving the well-being of the millions of urban poor living in slums.

This book crosses disciplinary boundaries to investigate how the benefits of green spaces can be further incorporated in public health. In this regard, the book highlights how ecosystem services provided by green spaces affect multiple aspects of human health and well-being, offering a strategic way to conceptualize the topic. For centuries, scholars have observed the range of health benefits associated with exposure to nature. As people continue to move to urban areas, it is essential to include green spaces in cities to ensure sustained human health and well-being. Such insights can not only advance the science but also spark interdisciplinary research and help researchers creatively translate their findings into benefits for the public. The book explores this topic in the context of ‘big picture’ frameworks that enhance communication between the environmental, public health, and social sciences.

This book provides an essential overview of sustainable development research in Mexico. It discusses the empirical research methods and findings, as well as practical initiatives and projects being pursued in Mexico and other countries in the region. Although a number of Mexican universities are now conducting high-quality research on matters related to sustainable development, there are few publications that offer a multidisciplinary overview of research efforts for a broader audience. This book addresses that gap in the literature, providing researchers at Mexican universities – including those from other countries working in Mexico – with an opportunity to present their work, i.e. curriculum innovations, empirical work, activities, case studies, and practical projects. As such, it fosters the exchange of information, ideas and experiences, successful initiatives and best practices.

This book aims to understand how the wellbeing benefits of urban green space (UGS) are analysed and valued and why they are interpreted and translated into action or inaction, into ‘success’ and/or ‘failure’. The provision, care and use of natural landscapes in urban settings (e.g. parks, woodland, nature reserves, riverbanks) are under-researched in academia and under-resourced in practice. Our growing knowledge of the benefits of natural urban spaces for wellbeing contrasts with asset management approaches in practice that view public green spaces as liabilities. Why is there a mismatch between what we know about urban green space and what we do in practice? What makes some UGS more ‘successful’ than others? And who decides on this measure of ‘success’ and how is this constituted? This book sets out to answer these and related questions by exploring a range of approaches to designing, planning and managing different natural landscapes in urban settings.

Regreening the Built Environment examines the relationship between the built environment and nature and demonstrates how rethinking the role and design of infrastructure can environmentally, economically, and socially sustain the earth. In the past, infrastructure and green or park spaces have been regarded as two opposing factors and placed in conflict with one another through irresponsible patterns of development. This book attempts to change this paradigm and create a new notion that greenspace, parks, and infrastructure can indeed be one in the same. The case studies will demonstrate how existing "gray" infrastructure can be retrofitted with green infrastructure and low impact development techniques. It is quite plausible that a building can be designed that actually creates greenspace or generates energy; likewise, a roadway can be a park, an alley can be a wildlife corridor, and a parking surface can be a garden. In addition to examining sustainability in the near future, the book also explores such alternatives in the distant and very distant future, questioning the notion of sustainability in the event of an earth-altering, cataclysmic disaster. The strategies presented in this book aim to stimulate discussions within the design profession and will be of great interest to students and practitioners of environmental studies, architecture, and urban design.

Accessibility is a concept central to integrated transport and land use planning. The goal of improving accessibility Ð for all modes, for all people Ð has made its way into mainstream transport policy and planning in communities worldwide. This unique book introduces new accessibility approaches to transport planning across Europe and the United States. The expert contributors present advanced interdisciplinary approaches in accessibility research and modelling with best practices in accessibility planning and evaluation, to better support integrated transport and land-use policy-making. This book will prove an absorbing read for scholars, researchers and students working on accessibility issues across different academic fields including transport geography, spatial economics and social science. Transport and urban planners will also find the book to be an invaluable reference tool.