David Goode

Ian Douglas

David Maddox

Michael C. Houck

The birds, animals, insects, trees and plants encountered by the majority of the world’s people are those that survive in, adapt to, or are introduced to, urban areas. Some of these organisms give great pleasure; others invade, colonise and occupy neglected and hidden areas such as derelict land and sewers. Urban areas have a high biodiversity and nature within cities provides many ecosystem services including cooling the urban area, reducing urban flood risk, filtering pollutants, supplying food, and providing accessible recreation. Yet, protecting urban nature faces competition from other urban land uses. The Handbook of Urban Ecology analyses this biodiversity and complexity and provides the science to guide policy and management to make cities more attractive, more enjoyable, and better for our own health and that of the planet. This Handbook contains 50 interdisciplinary contributions from leading academics and practitioners from across the world to provide an in-depth coverage of the main elements of practical urban ecology. It is divided into six parts, dealing with the philosophies, concepts and history of urban ecology; followed by consideration of the biophysical character of the urban environment and the diverse habitats found within it. It then examines human relationships with urban nature, the health, economic and environmental benefits of urban ecology before discussing the methods used in urban ecology and ways of putting the science into practice. The Handbook offers a state-of the art guide to the science, practice and value of urban ecology. The engaging contributions provide students and practitioners with the wealth of interdisciplinary information needed to manage the biota and green landscapes in urban areas.

The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology

Harini Nagendra

P M L Anderson

Mike Houck

Puay Yok Tan

This second edition covers recent developments around the world with contributors from 33 different countries. It widens the handbook’s scope by including ecological design; consideration of cultural dimensions of the use and conservation of urban nature; the roles of government and civil society; and the continuing issues of equity and fairness in access to urban greenspaces. New features include an emphasis on the biophilic design of homes and workplaces, demonstrating the value of nature, in order to counter the still prevalent attitude among many developers that nature is a constraint rather than a value. The volume explores great practical achievements have occurred since the first edition, with many governments increasingly recognising and legislating on urban nature and green infrastructure matters, since cities play a major role in adapting to change, particularly to climate crisis. New topics such as the ecological role of light at night and human microbiota in the urban ecosystem are introduced. Additional attention is given to food production in cities, particularly the multiple roles of urban agriculture and household gardens in different contexts from wealthy communities to the poorest informal settlements in deprived communities. The emphasis is on demonstrating what can be achieved, and what is already being done. The book will help scholars and graduate students by providing an invaluable and up-to-date guide to current urban ecological thinking across the range of disciplines, such as geography, ecology, environmental science/studies, planning, urban studies, that converge in the study of towns and cities and urban design and living. It will also assist practitioners and civil society members in discovering the ways different specialists and thinkers approach urban nature.

The relationship between dogs and humans has been represented and contemplated since the beginning of human culture. Lasting expressions of this interest can be found in art, philosophy, literature, and science. With the rise of biological and social sciences in the nineteenth century, disciplinary frames of analysis have increasingly been brought to bear on this topic. These include, among others, evolutionism, biology, genetics, psychology, ethology, anthropology and sociology, with a more recent trend toward interdisciplinary treatments. At present, there is a large body of scientific literature about the relationship between humans and dogs based upon primarily biological, genetic and psychological approaches. It is only within the past decade that sociologists have shown a concerted interest in the social organization of dog-human interaction, and Playing with My Dog Katie is an example of this movement. This unique contribution to the literature - an in-depth case study of a single dog and her guardian (the author) at play uses an ethnomethodological approach, an important aspect of the research is providing the reader with various kinds of data - in written, photographic and video formats - in order to display the phenomenon of play as ordinary, mundane practice. Based upon these data, various theoretical, methodological and empirical issues regarding our understanding of dog-human play are explored. Some of these include: anthropomorphism and anthropomorphic language, the social organization of different 'kinds' (guardian, guide-dog, working dog) of dog-human relationships, the conceptualization of play as an interspecies activity, and intersubjectivity (loosely meaning mutual understanding) between dogs and humans.

An Ethnomethodological Study of Dog-human Interaction

Playing with My Dog Katie

The latest in the New Naturalist series documents the parks and green spaces unique to Britain's cities – and the wildlife that has flourished in these habitats.

Nature in Towns and Cities (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 127)

Exploring communication with children born deaf-blind.

David Goode

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