Mapping the Design Process for Urban Ecology Researchers

Abstract

eMilie k. stAnder, And olyssA stArryThe integration of research into the design process is an opportunity to build ecologically informed urban design solutions. To date, designers have traditionally relied on environmental consultants to provide the best available science; however, serious gaps in our understanding of urban ecosystems remain. To evaluate ecosystem processes and services for sustainable urban design and to further advance our understanding of socialecological processes within the urban context, we need to integrate primary research into the urban design process. In this article, we develop a road map for such a synthesis. Supporting our proposals by case studies, we identify strategic entry points at which urban ecology researchers can integrate their work into the design process.

Grand challenges in urban ecology

“…From a translational perspective, urban ecosystem science can be put into practice more rapidly when ecologists inform the planning process through the development and testing of sharing research questions, robust tools, and place-specific ecological data (James et al, 2009;Lovell and Taylor, 2013) as well as scientifically sound landscape and site designs (Felson and Pickett, 2005;Pickett and Cadenasso, 2008;Ahern, 2013;Felson et al, 2013a;Steiner, 2014). These activities are increasingly iterative and adaptive, with experimental science and ecological monitoring integrated with actions that can feedback to decisionmaking via participatory planning, adaptive management, and the coproduction of knowledge at the science-policy interface (Pickett et al, 2004;Pickett and Cadenasso, 2008;Lovell and Johnston, 2009;Evans, 2011;Felson et al, 2013b;Lovell and Taylor, 2013;Ahern et al, 2014;Niemelä, 2014). Such interactions take advantage of a shared understanding developed in the fields of both ecology and planning that cities are complex systems; that they are dynamic over space and time; and that they interact with their surroundings regionally and globally.…”

Designing (for) Urban Food Webs

“…• Parametric design: Computational process that uses algorithmic-based software to generate responsive and immersive three-dimensional models used in (landscape) architecture. • Working methods of design include iterative approaches to site analysis, conceptual and schematic design, design detailing, material selection, communication with clients and stakeholder, design, and construction (Felson et al, 2013b).…”

“…Ecologists are increasingly working with designers and other urban practitioners involved in shaping cities (Felson et al, 2013b;Tanner et al, 2014;Pickett et al, 2020). These interactions can be challenging but also have potential to enrich all the partners (e.g., Johnson et al, 2002;Musacchio, 2009;Pickett et al, 2016).…”

“…On the other hand, design professionals, environmental consultants, and other practitioners tend to rely mostly on technical reports, assumptions, and dated ecological knowledge derived from non-urban systems to inform their work (Forman, 2002;Johnson et al, 2002). Although designers have limited time to interpret and synthesize ecological information, working methods of design are flexible enough to incorporate ecological input at different stages (Felson et al, 2013b). These cultural differences, distinct ideologies, vocabularies, methods and tools, scales of activity, and approaches to work need to be addressed in any collaboration between ecologists and designers (Ellison and Buckley Borden, 2021).…”

“…These cultural differences, distinct ideologies, vocabularies, methods and tools, scales of activity, and approaches to work need to be addressed in any collaboration between ecologists and designers (Ellison and Buckley Borden, 2021). Working closely with ecologists to define these methods is a way forward to ensure that ecological theory informs design outcomes (Felson et al, 2013b). Landscape ecologists have had the most success in building collaborative bridges with designers, providing connections between ecology, sustainability, aesthetics, and design (Musacchio, 2011).…”