BACKGROUND Human activity and decisions drive all life in cities. Worldwide, cities are
characterized by extensive anthropogenic transformation of the landscape, modification of …

The majority of humanity now lives in cities or towns, with this proportion expected to
continue increasing for the foreseeable future. As novel ecosystems, urban areas offer an …

This chapter is aimed at analyzing a review of the empirical literature on some important
features of urban green spaces such as the components, functions, services, community …

Within-city green infrastructure can offer opportunities and new contexts for people to
become stewards of ecosystem services. We analyze cities as social–ecological systems …

Human well-being relies critically on ecosystem services provided by nature. Examples
include water and air quality regulation, nutrient cycling and decomposition, plant pollination …

Urban ecological studies, including focus on cities, suburbs, and exurbs, while having deep
roots in the early to mid 20th century, have burgeoned in the last several decades. We use …

A framework is constructed for how to relate ecosystem services to environmental justice.
The benefits humans and society can derive from biophysical processes cannot be viewed …

The ecological dynamics of cities are influenced not only by geophysical and biological
factors, but also by aspects of human society. In cities around the world, a pattern of higher …

With increasing urbanization the importance of cities for biodiversity conservation grows.
This paper reviews the ways in which biodiversity is affected by urbanization and discusses …

When measured by extent and intensity, urbanization is one of the most homogenizing of all
major human activities. Cities homogenize the physical environment because they are built …