Urban Biodiversity and Design

With the continual growth of the worlds urban population, biodiversity in towns and cities will play a critical role in global biodiversity. This is the first book to provide an overview of international developments in urban biodiversity and sustainable design. It brings together the views, experiences and expertise of leading scientists and designers from the industrialised and preindustrialised countries from around the world. The contributors explore the biological, cultural and social values of urban biodiversity, including methods for assessing and evaluating urban biodiversity, social and educational issues, and practical measures for restoring and maintaining biodiversity in urban areas. Contributions come from presenters at an international scientific conference held in Erfurt, Germany 2008 during the 9th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biodiversity. This is also Part of our Conservation Science and Practice book series (with Zoological Society of London).

Norbert Mller is Professor of Landscape Management and Restoration Ecology at the University of Applied Sciences, Erfurt, Germany, with main research fields in conservation biology and urban ecology. He chairs the International Network for Urban Biodiversity and Design - URBIO. After graduating in botany and geology John G. Kelcey was appointed as the ecologist of Milton Keynes Development Corporation, the first appointment of its kind in Britain. He new pursues his long-held personal interest in the natural history and ethnography of Europe including the relationship between terminal illness and environmental quality in urban areas)