Urban wildscapes and green spaces in Mombasa and their potential contribution to climate change adaptation and mitigation

Kithiia, Justus; Lyth, Anna

doi:10.1177/0956247810396054

Cited by 61 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Instead, urban shrinkage allows us to contemplate a 'resurgence' of nature (Haase 2008: 6). Human agency may be required to transform wastelands into urban wilderness to protect and manage wildlife (Kithiia and Lyth 2011). This transformation may require not only physical changes but conceptual changes if "urban wilderness is able to give the shrinking city new aesthetic and ecological qualities and to turn back or stop the devaluation process" (Rink 2009: 289-290).…”

Section: The Internal Relations Of Wilderness Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suburban wilderness in the Houston metropolitan landscape

Schmidt

2017

Journal of Political Ecology

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This article examines the intersections of community activism and wilderness in the sprawling suburban and industrial landscapes of Houston, Texas, in the United States. The Houston metropolitan region's rapid urban development, laissez-faire land use planning, and world-class petrochemical industries provide a critical context to explore the material and conceptual relations of wilderness. Building upon recent debates regarding the production of nature, the article argues that wilderness is and always has been integrated into our everyday suburban landscapes. The empirical data discussed reveals the practices and processes (re)producing wilderness materially and conceptually within the contemporary relations of urban life. It challenges us to envision wilderness as internal to society and society as internal to wilderness. The results suggest that wilderness, instead of being external and in need of protection, is internal to the human experience and therefore internal to our urban landscapes. Key Words: wilderness, urban development, production of nature, community activism, Houston, TX RésuméCet article examine les intersections de l'activisme communautaire et en pleine nature dans les paysages suburbains et industriels que l'étalement autour de Houston, Texas, USA. Le développement urbain rapide de ses régions métropolitaines, la planification du laissez-faire, et les industries pétrochimiques de classe mondiale fournissent un contexte critique pour explorer la matière et les relations conceptuelles de l'espace naturel. Se fondant sur les débats récents concernant la production de la nature, l'article soutient que l'espace naturel a toujours été intégré dans nos banlieues. Les données empiriques examinées révèle les pratiques et les processus (re)produisant l'espace naturel matériellement et conceptuellement dans les relations contemporaines de la vie urbaine. Il nous incite à envisager l'espace naturel comme interne à la société, et la société en interne à l'espace naturel. Les résultats suggèrent que l'espace naturel, au lieu d'être externe et dans le besoin de protection, est interne à l'expérience humaine et donc interne à nos paysages urbains. Mots-clés: l'espace naturel, le développement urbain, la production de la nature, l'activisme communautaire, Houston, TX ResumenEste artículo examina las intersecciones del activismo comunitario y naturaleza en los crecientes paisajes suburbanos e industriales de Houston, Texas, en Estados Unidos. El rápido desarrollo urbano, el planeamiento liberal del uso de suelo y las industrias petroquímicas de nivel internacional en la zona metropolitana de Houston, proveen un importante contexto para analizar las relaciones materiales y conceptuales de la naturaleza. Con base en recientes debates sobre la producción de naturaleza, este artículo discute que la naturaleza es y siempre ha sido integrada en nuestro cotidiano paisaje suburbano. Los datos empíricos discutidos aquí, revelan las prácticas y los procesos que (re)producen la naturaleza material y conceptual d...

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Section: The Internal Relations Of Wilderness Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suburban wilderness in the Houston metropolitan landscape

Schmidt

2017

Journal of Political Ecology

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“…Adaptation actions are often divided into so-called hard and soft approaches, with the former focusing on engineered structures and the latter on issues such as awareness raising and institutional capacity building (Jones et al 2012). So-called green, or ecosystem-based, adaptation measures can be considered either as a third way (Naumann et al 2011, Jones et al 2012 or as part of a more widely framed soft approach (Kithiia andLyth 2011, Sovacool 2011).…”

Section: Analytical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Operationalizing ecosystem-based adaptation: harnessing ecosystem services to buffer communities against climate change

Wamsler¹,

Niven²,

Beery³

et al. 2016

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Ecosystem-based approaches for climate change adaptation are promoted at international, national, and local levels by both scholars and practitioners. However, local planning practices that support these approaches are scattered, and measures are neither systematically implemented nor comprehensively reviewed. Against this background, this paper advances the operationalization of ecosystem-based adaptation by improving our knowledge of how ecosystem-based approaches can be considered in local planning (operational governance level). We review current research on ecosystem services in urban areas and examine four Swedish coastal municipalities to identify the key characteristics of both implemented and planned measures that support ecosystem-based adaptation. The results show that many of the measures that have been implemented focus on biodiversity rather than climate change adaptation, which is an important factor in only around half of all measures. Furthermore, existing measures are limited in their focus regarding the ecological structures and the ecosystem services they support, and the hazards and risk factors they address. We conclude that a more comprehensive approach to sustainable ecosystem-based adaptation planning and its systematic mainstreaming is required. Our framework for the analysis of ecosystem-based adaptation measures proved to be useful in identifying how ecosystem-related matters are addressed in current practice and strategic planning, and in providing knowledge on how ecosystem-based adaptation can further be considered in urban planning practice. Such a systematic analysis framework can reveal the ecological structures, related ecosystem services, and risk-reducing approaches that are missing and why. This informs the discussion about why specific measures are not considered and provides pathways for alternate measures/designs, related operations, and policy processes at different scales that can foster sustainable adaptation and transformation in municipal governance and planning.

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“…Pune City has undergone rapid changes in land use patterns with the percentage of urban land use shooting up from 2.96 in 1977 to 20.40 in 2013 and a decline in vegetation (Ramachandra et al 2014). Urban green spaces including this college campus are of great ecological significance as they provide multiple ecosystem services like clean air and water, sustain an array of wildlife, mitigate climate change,and reduce the heat island effect (Kitha & Lyth 2011). Thus understanding the history of biodiversity, periodic quantitative monitoring and compilation of such urban biota especially in tropical cities (Aronson et al 2014) by conducting exhaustive surveys and engaging students in its conservation would pave the path towards conservation of this unique urban landscape.…”

Section: The Fergusson Botanical Gardenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Floristically, cities have been observed to be richer than adjoining areas owing to high habitat heterogeneity as well as the presence of exotic species (Pyšek 1998;Chocholoušková 2003). In cities, urban green spaces are of great importance because of the multiple ecosystem services they provide (Nehru et al 2012) and may exist in the form of domestic, public or botanical gardens, unused fields, woodlands (Smith et al 2006;Primack & Miller-Rushing 2009;Kitha & Lyth 2011), campuses of educational institutes (Suresh & Bhat 2000) or urban forests/ wildscapes (Joshi & Kumbhojkar 1997;Nerlekar & Kulkarni 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flora of Fergusson College campus, Pune, India: monitoring changes over half a century

et al. 2016

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<p>The present study was aimed at determining the vascular plant species richness of an urban green-space- the Fergusson College campus, Pune and comparing it with the results of the past flora which was documented in 1958 by Dr. V.D. Vartak. For this, the species richness data was obtained by both secondary sources and intensive surveys from 2009–2014. The data from the primary and secondary sources resulted in the documentation of 812 species belonging to 542 genera under 124 families, of which 534 species (65.8%) exists today as compared to 654 in 1958 (net loss of 120 species). Of the 812 species listed, 278 species were observed only during the past, 210 species were exclusively recorded in the current survey and 324 species were observed both, in the past as well as current survey. Arboreal species richness recorded till date (196) in the campus accounts for 40.7% of that of the entire Pune City. Leguminosae and Poaceae were the dominant dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous families respectively and an inventory of all the species recorded is provided. Although the botanical garden over the past years has lost 187 species, it still houses rare species such as <em>Acacia greggii,</em> which has been reported from Maharashtra for the first time. Considering the rapidly changing urban land use in the city, much attention should be paid towards the conservation of these green spaces, for which such studies provide baseline data.</p><div> </div>

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Urban wildscapes and green spaces in Mombasa and their potential contribution to climate change adaptation and mitigation

Cited by 61 publications

References 24 publications

Suburban wilderness in the Houston metropolitan landscape

Suburban wilderness in the Houston metropolitan landscape

Operationalizing ecosystem-based adaptation: harnessing ecosystem services to buffer communities against climate change

Flora of Fergusson College campus, Pune, India: monitoring changes over half a century

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