Special Issue: “Maintaining Ecosystem Services to Support Urban Needs”

Abstract

Cities are growing worldwide, in their geographical extent with respect to their general and current macro-economic significance, as well as regarding their total populations. Thereby, land and resource utilization are increasing in and around agglomeration centers, as are the requirements for a good quality of life and health. Current projections of rapid expansion of urban areas present fundamental challenges but also opportunities to design more livable, healthy, and resilient cities [1,2].Often, the city has been treated in geographical writings as merely a social phenomenon, and at the same time, environmental scientists have tended to ignore the urban perspective [3]. In recent years, social, economic, and environmental considerations have led to a reevaluation of the factors that contribute to sustainable urban environments. In this context, urban green space is increasingly seen as an integral part of cities that provides a range of services to both the people and the wildlife living in urban areas [4]. It is widely accepted that forests, surface waters, parks, and gardens make up a significant part of the quality of life in cities. They represent urban ecological features, provide numerous ecosystem services, such as the adaptation to climate change impacts, and are essential for the urban population in terms of environmental education and contact with nature.With this recognition and resulting from the simultaneous provision of different services by urban ecosystems, there is a real need to identify a research framework in which to develop multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research on urban green space and to quantify and communicate its value in terms of ecosystem services accounting in space and time. Studies investigating the effects of urban green space on well-being and health show how important nature is for human well-being in urban areas. All these studies provide helpful information for policy and planning on the optimal amount of green space provision for well-being and health in close vicinity to the residential areas [2].

Fostering the Resiliency of Urban Landscape through the Sustainable Spatial Planning of Green Spaces

“…Today, urban areas represent a fundamental tool to support and promote sustainable development within urban contexts [69]. As highlighted by the systematic review, the scientific literature has shown a growing interest in urban green areas from 2006 to 2020 (Figure 2a).…”

Soil Diversity (Pedodiversity) and Ecosystem Services

“…Urbanization, another example of extrinsic factors, alters soils in various ways (e.g., erosion and pollution) and creates ES/ED specific to urban soil diversity (urban pedodiversity), which requires adjustment of valuations to urban environments [56,57]. Urbanization alters the stocks and flows of ES/ED provided by soils in urban and non-urban environments since urban environments are not self-supporting, which creates a significant demand for ES from urban fringes and beyond [58].…”

Comparative Study on the Optimization Path of Industrial Value Chain in China’s Resource-Based Cities

“…Furthermore, ecological environmental protection, that is, creating environmental value, must also be considered. Therefore, the relevant decision-making requires the proper management of ecological and land use through project priority setting [36]. In order to balance the aspects of economic, social, and environmental value, China's resource-based cities generally optimize the industrial value chain structure by adjusting industrial structures.…”