In ecology, urban ecosystems are considered a ecosystem functional group within the
intensive land-use biome. They are structurally complex
ecosystems with highly heterogeneous and dynamic spatial structure that is created and maintained by
humans. They include
cities,
smaller settlements and
industrial areas, that are made up of diverse patch types (e.g. buildings, paved surfaces, transport infrastructure, parks and gardens, refuse areas). Urban ecosystems rely on large subsidies of imported water, nutrients, food and other resources. Compared to other natural and artificial ecosystems human population density is high, and their interaction with the different patch types produces emergent properties and complex feedbacks among ecosystem components.
In
socioecology
Socioecology is the scientific study of how social structure and organization are influenced by an organism's environment. Socioecology is primarily related to anthropology, geography, sociology, and ecology. Specifically, the term is used in hum ...
, urban areas are considered part of a broader social-ecological system in which urban landscapes and urban human communities interact with other landscape elements.
Urbanization has large impacts on human and
environmental health, and the study of urban ecosystems has led to proposals for
sustainable
Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...
urban designs and approaches to development of city fringe areas that can help reduce negative impact on surrounding environments and promote human well-being.
Bibliography
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Manfredi Nicoletti
Manfredi Nicoletti (16 June 1930 – 29 October 2017) was an Italian architect.
Biography
Nicoletti is considered a pioneer in Bioclimatic urban and architectural design. In the 1970s his book ''L'ecosistema urbano'' (The Urban Ecosystem) - a t ...
, L'Ecosistema Urbano (The Urban Ecosystem), Dedalo Bari 1978
See also
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Ecosystem
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Human ecosystem
Human ecosystems are human-dominated ecosystems of the anthropocene era that are viewed as complex cybernetic systems by conceptual models that are increasingly used by ecological anthropologists and other scholars to examine the ecological as ...
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Media ecosystem
Media ecology theory is the study of media, technology, and communication and how they affect human environments. The theoretical concepts were proposed by Marshall McLuhan in 1964, while the term ''media ecology'' was first formally introduced b ...
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Urban planning
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Urban ecology
References
{{Reflist
Ecosystems
Systems ecology