Urban Ecology

prep for quizzes and tests

what is true of population in the 1700s

• few existing cities were small

• 5 cities had > (greater) 0.5M residents

• all large cities in Eurasia (ex: London, Paris Tokoyo, Hong Kong)

what is true of the population in the 1800s

• not much changed since 1700s

• 6 cities had > 0.5M residents (all still in Eurasia)

• one city exceeded 1M

define a mega city and give example

a city with at least 10 mill residents

ex- NYC

what is true of the population in the 1900s

• 46 cities had > 0.5M

• 15 cities had > 1M residents

• several of these cities were in North and South America (shift from most primarily being in Eurasia)

what was seen with light at night in 2002

5/6 continents now have large cities

where can the fall line be seen in GA

through columbus, macon, and augusta

fall line

area where an upland region and softer coastal plain meet

what are the two likely explanations for relatively recent urban pop growth

birth and death rate

birth rate

number of live births in a year per 1,000 of the midyear pop

death rate

number of deaths in a year per 1,000 est in midyear pop

why did demographic rates change

to facilitate “natural” increase of urban (&rural ) populations

when do people typically migrate from rural to urban centers

during peaks in job cycles

Kondratiev Cycle

• unorthodox( not believed by all economists)

• typically starts with technological advancement —> market saturates—> jobs decline

demographic transition

A model explaining changes in birth and death rates as a country develops from a pre industrial to a post industrial state ( usually in DEVELOPING countries)

possible reason fro urban population growth

people move from rural to urban centers for jobs/incomes

what is an ex of a technological advancement in terms of this cycle

steam engine

when looking at a map, total employment change typically mirrors what

population change

what is the Atlanta Regional Commision

pulls 11-16 government officials and they complete urban planting

ecological footprint

productive 2D area needed to support a particular lifetsyle

who tends to have a high ecological footprint

developed nations

what is the revelance/connection of W.Rees and M.Wackernagle

worked together at the uni of British columbia

population growth

• can be (+) or (-)

• inc in the number of people in a pop

if urban pop growth impacts an ecosystem/ public health, what can be done

slow (+) pop growth

manage urban form before/after it takes shape

urban growth boundary (UGB)

• way to help limit ecological footprint

• ex- done in seattle to help with high pop growth

• ex- one child policy in china

what area is an ex of a progressive state trying to reduce their footprint?

Vancouver

neoclassical vs ecological economics

• neoclassical- economy is a closed, self-contained system operating with no physical limits to growth

• ecological- economy is embedded within a finite and interdependent biosphere (that provides essential services and resources)

what does cso stand for

combined sewer overflow

combined sewer overflow

urban sprawl

relate the city of watts, ca , redlining, and kerner report to eachother

atlanta is the third of three names given to the city at the heart of our metropolitan area. the first name was…..

Terminus

what does NAAQS  stand for

what does EPA stand for

what does MDEQ stand for

Gaffield et al.(2003) compared the expected economic costs of three strategies to deal with waterborne disease in New York City, NY. Name or describe the strategy with the lowest expected cost per unit time

what cemetery did we visit and what style is it

Oakland Cemetery and Victorian Era

just after the Great Depression, the Federal Housing Administration facilitated home buying on the urban fringe when it…

insuring banks that issued mortages

how has the relationship between zoning and public health changed overtime

how did the housing policy and emergency management combine to help create environmental injustice in Flint, Michigan just before 2020

what are the 6 criteria air pollutants

1. ground level ozone (O3)

2. Sulphur dioxide (SO2)

3. carbon monoxide (CO)

4. nitrogen dioxide (NO2)

5. particulate matter (PM size 2.5, 10)

6. Lead (Pb)

what model is often used to display environmental degradation with air pollution

Kuznet’s Environmental Curve

ecology

scientific discipline that describes the biotic and abiotic factors that describes the biotic and abiotic factors that dictate organismal distribution 

landscape

area large enough to contain multiple ecosystems (community and abiotic surroundings)

when does sustainability come into play (urban sustainability approach

the 2000s

sustainiability

something that is used or a pattern of use that maintains the resource for future generations (ex oil)

what was Gaston’s definition of UE

the scientific study of the processes determining the abundance and distribution of organisms…& of the flows of energy and materials through (urban) ecosystems

what is McDonnell’s definition of UE

integrates both basic and applied , natural, and social science research to explore and elucidate the multiple dimensions of urban ecosystems

what is Donnelly’s definition of UE

the study of urban and urbanizing ecosystems that unites knowledge and methods from natural and social sciences to understand and manage for ecosystem and public health

why is UE important

• human populations are large and growing

• humans are aggregating (equally dispersing and close together)

• large aggregations are creating ecosystem and public health problems

• ecological processes often change with urbanization 

• complexity of urban system require multi-disciplinary 

what is the world, us, and atl metro population

• world- 8.2 billion

• US- 330 mill

• atl metro area- 5.3 mill

what is the tri-state water wars

water feud between Alabama, GA, FL (Chatachoo River and Apalachicola Bay)

what happened with the air quality during the Atlanta 1996 Olympics

the air quality got better bc there was a push for less emissions and the overall patterns of asthma rates dec

what ecological processes does urbanization alter

• distturbance

• nutrient cycling

• primary productivity

disturbance

discrete event in time that changes community structure

what are examples of disturbance

deforestation, wildfire, hurricane , human development (buildings)

nutrient cycling

energy and matter are transferred between living organisms and non-living parts of the environment

primary productivity

rate at which organisms convert inorganic carbon into organic compounds (photosynthesis)

how do alterations in processes rapidly move community structure

• away from the natural state

• for very long timespans

who is Mark McDonnell

• univeristy of Melbourne

• institution for ecosystem studies

LTER

long term ecological research

IGERT

integrated graduate education and research training

what does the US National Science Foundations (NSF)

• three urban long term ecological research sites (LTER)

• multiple integrated graduate education and research training (IGERT)

• new journal articies, books..

what are likely two explanations for relatively recent urban population growth

• birth and death rate

• people moving from rural to urban centers for jobs

describe the Kondratieff Cycle

• unorthodox (not believed by all economists)

• typically starts w/ technological advancement (ex. steam enginie and petroleum use

• then market saturates and jobs decline

ecological footprint

productive 2D area needed to support a particular lifestyle 

what nations tend to be pretty high

developed nations

how can we help the impact that population growth has on the ecosystem and public health and give examples

• slow + population growth

• manage urban form before or after it takes shape

examples

• Vancouver is very progressice and trying to reduce footprint by 33% in 2020

• One Child Policy in China

what are some characteristics of urban sprawl

• landuse

• transportation

landuse

• dec density

• dec landuse mix

transportation

• dec connectivity

• inc auto-dependence

landuse mix

intended or actual utility of the surface of the Earth often designed by a government agency

examples of landuse mix

commercial, residential, industrial (heavy/light), agricultural, recreational

transportation

how people get around from place to place

connectivity

how directly you can get to any given distance

why were cities built to be compact (ex Croatia and Savannah )

• protection/safety

• transportation (of goods and people)

where is urban sprawl common

metro areas ( like ATL) but not necessarily in northeastern parts like Boston bc of different developments like the grid earlier on

is urban sprawl more common in the US or Europe

US

what explains the spatial variability in areas Oxford and  Boston

• more agricultural space ( not a lot to begin with so it must be protected from building of more roads

• less roads and more public transport like trains

• greater investment in public transport and much higher gas prices (high taxation)

externality

when effects on economic (3rd parties) that didn’t have input on choices/decisions

positive effects on urban sprawl users

• dec cost for private land

• inc peace and quiet (privacy)

• dec health risk sometimes

• greenspace

negative effects on urban sprawl users

• auto dependence

• more time driving which means (less time for physical activity and lower air quality)

environmental justice

both a field of study and a social movement that examines the distribution of environmental costs and benefits across different populations

what is no population left behind

a policy pushing for everyone to get their fair share of population

what are some factors that can define populations

• race

• ethnicitiy/culture

• nationality

• income

• age

• environmental benefits (recreational parks, landscaping, affordable housing, good public schools, healthy foods)

• environmental costs/hazards

environmental benefits

• recreational parks

• landscaping

• affordable housing

• good public schools

• healthy foods

environmental costs/ hazards

• traffic (lower income people w/ no access to cars left to walk across busy intersections sometimes w/ kids think Buford hwy)

• crime

• polluted water and air

why do environmental costs related to urban sprawl persist

• ultimate cause: discrimination (race, income, religion, nationality)

• proximate causes: discriminatory housing policy, education policy, employment policy, voting, and political disorganization

how can we address issues caused by urban sprawl

• education

• gathering and analyzing data

• legal advocation

• legal enforcement

why do humans need lots of high quality water

• our cells function best w/ 70-90% water

• we must constantly replace loss

• we suffer when water contains harmful stuff

how do humans lose water

• from evaporation (sweat)

• from urination (trying yo get rid of nitrogenous waste=urea)

we suffer when water contains…

• pollutants (ex. harmuful chemicals)

• pathogens (microorganisms that cause disease ike E.coli)

• turbidity ( sediment mixed in water that makes it harder to clean out pathogens bc it causes cloudiness)

when you can’t tell where evaporation source is

• evapo-transpiration

infiltration is negatively correlated with …

impervious surface

run-off goes up when…

infiltration goes down

how is runoff diverted for transportation safety

• gutters direct water

• storm drains collect it

• culverts (underground pipes) take it away from streets and lots

• water retention ponds hold it and slowly meter it out to streams or outfalls transfer it directly to nearby streams

how long are retention ponds to hold water

• not meant to have water for long (just right after storm to get rid of it

what causes streams to drop as fast as they go up (flashiness)

impervious surfaces

what does flashiness do to water

it reduces quality

how does flashiness reduce water quality

• inc discharge, inc erosion, and incises channel

• separates stream from flood plain

• inc downstream turbidity

• turbidity and deposition reduce habitat quality and