Advancing Urban Ecology Knowledge to Enhance Urban Planning and Design in Cities

The importance of biodiversity in urban environments is increasingly being recognised for the critical role it can play in enhancing the health and wellbeing of human residents, through the essential ecosystem services that can be delivered; as well as for the direct and indirect contributions that urban areas can make to the conservation of biodiversity at the global scale. Incorporating and conserving biodiversity in urban landscapes requires input from a wide range of disciplines. Planners and landscape architects have a crucial role to play in protecting and promoting biodiversity in cities, due to the direct influence they have on shaping the form and fabric of the urban environment, and urban ecologists are well placed to contribute ecological information that improved the outcomes for biodiversity. This presentation will review recent advancements in the field of urban ecology, and demonstrate how urban ecological knowledge can be successfully translated into urban planning and design outcomes that enhance urban landscapes for both people and nature.