Journal article
What are the traits of a social-ecological system: towards a framework in support of urban sustainability
E Andersson, D Haase, P Anderson, C Cortinovis, J Goodness, D Kendal, A Lausch, T McPhearson, D Sikorska, T Wellmann
Npj Urban Sustainability | Published : 2021
Abstract
To ensure that cities and urban ecosystems support human wellbeing and overall quality of life we need conceptual frameworks that can connect different scientific disciplines as well as research and practice. In this perspective, we explore the potential of a traits framework for understanding social-ecological patterns, dynamics, interactions, and tipping points in complex urban systems. To do so, we discuss what kind of framing, and what research, that would allow traits to (1) link the sensitivity of a given environmental entity to different globally relevant pressures, such as land conversion or climate change to its social-ecological consequences; (2) connect to human appraisal and dive..
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Awarded by Narodowe Centrum Nauki
Funding Acknowledgements
Erik Andersson's, Dagmar Haase, and Daria Sikorska's research was supported as part of the project ENABLE, funded through the 2015-2016 BiodivERsA COFUND call for research proposals, with the national funders The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences, and Spatial Planning, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, German aeronautics and space research centre, National Science Centre (Poland), The Research Council of Norway and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. In addition, Erik was supported by the SMARTer Greener Cities project through the Nordforsk Sustainable Urban Development and Smart Cities program. Dagmar benefited from the GreenCityLabHue Project (FKZ 01LE1910A) and the CLEARING HOUSE (Collaborative Learning in Research, Information-sharing and Governance on How Urban forest-based solutions support Sino-European urban futures) Horizon 2020 project (No 1290/2013), as well as the EU Horizon 2020 project CONNECTING Nature - COproductioN with NaturE for City Transitioning, Innovation and Governance (Project Number: 730222). Chiara Cortinovis acknowledges financial support by the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Science and Spatial Planning (Formas) project Nature-based solutions for urban challenges' (grant n. 2016-00324). Dave Kendal is supported by ARC Linkage Project LP160100439 and the Healthy Future Environments and People REP grant. Timon McPhearson is supported by the US National Science Foundation (NSF grant no. SES 1444755), as well as the US NSF Accel-Net program NATURA (grant no. 1927167), and US NSF Convergence program (grant no. 1934933) and the SMARTer Greener Cities project through the NordForsk Sustainable Urban Development and Smart Cities program. Angela Lausch is Member of the GEO BON-Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and GEOEssential Group-Essential Geo-Variables for resource efficiency and environmental management "GEOEssentials" (ERA-NET-Cofund Grant, Grant Agreement No. 689443). Thilo Wellmann receives a scholarship by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt DBU (German Federal Environmental Foundation). Some icons designed by macrovector / Freepik.