Urban Ecology in the Global South

Against the background of unprecedented rates of urbanisation in the Global South, leading to massive social, economic and environmental transformations, this book engages with the dire need to understand the ecology of such settings as the foundation for fostering sustainable and resilient human settlements in contexts that are very different to the Global North. It does so by bringing together scholars from around the world, drawing together research and case studies from across the Global South to illustrate, in an interdisciplinary and comprehensive fashion, the ecology of towns and cities in the Global South. Framed using a social-ecological systems lens, it provides the reader with an in-depth analysis and understanding of the ecological dynamics and ecosystem services and disservices within the complex and rapidly changing towns and cities of the Global South, a region with currently scarce representation in most of the urban ecology literature. As such the book makes a call forgreater geographical balance in urban ecology research leading towards a more global understanding and frameworks. The book embraces the complexity of these rapid transformations for ecological and environmental management and how the ecosystems and the benefits they provide shape local ecologies, livelihood opportunities and human wellbeing, and how such knowledge can be mobilised towards improved urban design and management and thus urban sustainability.

Chp

Provisional title

Lead author & institution

1

Urban ecology in the Global South - development, definitions, why need a Global South perspective

Editors

 

2

Urbanisation in the Global South

Garth Myers; Trinity College (USA)

3

Urban landscape history  (legacy effects, extinction debts, past land use on current form)

Marie du Toit; Northwest University (RSA)

4

Urban social ecology (incl. environmental justice and political ecology)

Marion Mehring; Inst for Social-Ecological Research (Germany)

Section 2:  Urban Green Infrastructure & Biodiversity: patterns & processes

5

Urban green infrastructure (concepts scales, types, distribution, functions)

Stephan Pauleit; Technical University of Munich (Germany)

6

Plant diversity (including functional diversity & invasive species)

Pippin Anderson; University of Cape Town (RSA)

7

Animal diversity (including functional diversity & invasive species)

Chevonne Reynolds; University of the Witwatersrand (RSA)

Section 3: Ecosystem services

8

Urban provisioning ecosystem services

Charlie Shackleton; Rhodes University (RSA)

9

Urban regulating ecosystem services

Francisco Escobedo; University of Florida (USA)

10

Urban cultural ecosystem services

Cynnamon Dobbs; Mayor University (Chile)

11

Urban ecosystem disservices

Elandrie Davoren; Rhodes University (RSA)

12

Urban agriculture (incl. livestock)

Axel Drescher; Frederick Alexander University (Germany)

Section 4: Planning and management

13

Promoting urban resilience and seeking sustainability

 

Nadia Sitas; University Stellenbosch (RSA)

14

Social and ecological connectivity

Kristi Maciejewski; University of Stellenbosch (RSA)

15

Ecological planning and design

Sarel Cilliers; Northwest University (RSA)

16

Urban governance of and for urban green and blue infrastructure (both formal and informal governance approaches, public participation)

David Simon; Royal Holloway University of London (UK)

Concluding remarks

17

(Re)imagining towns and cities of the future Global South

Editors