The Nature of (in) Cities

Abstract

Several years ago an advertisement appeared in the real estate section of the Washington Post ¹ promoting a new development: “The NICE THING about the city is that it eventually ENDS” (emphasis in original). The image juxtaposed sidewalks, a fire hydrant, and other essentially gray surfaces in the foreground (bad) with the bucolic images of forest and farm field in the distance (good). The implications were clear —if you want any meaningful ex posure to nature, quickly exit the city. Unfortunately, this reflects the popul ar attitude toward cities and nature.

Chapter 2

• 1. The next two paragraphs draw heavily from Beatley, “Towards Biophilic Cities,” in Kellert, Heerwegen and Mador, eds., Biophilic Design, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2008.

• 2. Eric Chivian and Aaron Bernstein, eds., Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.

• 3. “Dimming Lights Saves Birds, Study Says,” Chicago Tribune, May 9, 2002, section 1: “Field Museum scientists collected birds killed after striking the windows and found that turning off the interior lights or pulling drapes reduced deaths by 83 percent.”

• 4. City of Toronto, Bird-Friendly Development Guidelines, March 2007.

• 5. City of Toronto, “Bird-Friendly Development Rating System and Acknowledgement Program,” found atwww.toronto.ca/lightsout/guidelines.htm, accessed May 27, 2010.

• 6. Theresa Boyle, “These Buildings Are for the Birds,” Toronto Star, May 4, 2007; for more about birds in that city, see Gerald McKeating, Birds of Toronto, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Lone Pine Publishing, 1990.

• 7. New York City Department of Environmental Protection, “Peregrine Falcons in New York City,” found at nyc.gov/html/dep/html/news/falcon.shtml, accessed October 16, 2009.

• 8. “Peregrine Falcons Nesting in Richmond,” in Local Bird News, Richmond Audubon Society, found atwww.richmondaudubon.org/NewsPeregrine.html, accessed December 10, 2009.

• 9. Jane McKay, “San Francisco Is a Bird Watcher’s Paradise,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 23, 2009.

• 10. New Housing, New York Legacy Project, “Phipps-Rose-DattnerGrimshaw Selected to Develop City-Owned Site in South Bronx,” press release, January 17, 2007.

• 11. Richard Preston, The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring, New York: Random House, 2007.

• 12. Irwin M. Brodo, Sylvia Duran Sharnoff, and Stephen Sharnoff, Lichens of North America, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001.

• 13. Jennifer Amie, “Surprising Symbionts: The Unusual Biology of Lichens,” University of Minnesota News, November 27, 2007.

• 14. H. J. M. Sipman puts the numbers at 290 and 308, respectively. See Sipman, “Tropical Urban Lichens: Observations from Singapore,” Blumea—Biodiversity, Evolution and Biogeography of Plants 54 (nos. 1–3, October 2009):297–299.

• 15. For example, Dobson, Guide to Urban Lichens, Field Studies Centre, UK, 2006.

• 16. For more on the biology of tardigrades, see Ian M. Kinchin, The Biology of Tardigrades, Surrey, UK: Ashgate Publishers, 1994. There have been relatively few studies of tardigrades in cities; see the following: Peluffa, Rocha, and Peluffa, “Species Diversity and Morphometrics of Tardigrades in a Medium-Sized City in the Neotropical Region: Santa Ross,” Animal Biodiversity and Conservation 30 (2007): 43–51; Peluffo, Peluffo, and Rocha, “Tradigrade Distribution in a Medium-Sized City of Central Argentina,” Hydrobiologia 558 (2006):141–150.

• 17. Species Distribution Project, Tardigrade Facts, Illinois Wesleyan University, found atwww.iwu.edu/~tardisp/tardigrade_facts.html, accessed November 21, 2009.

• 18. John H. Crowe, Folkert A. Hoekstra, and Lois M. Crowe, “Anhydrobiosis,” Annual Review of Physiology 54 (1992):579–599.

• 19. See, for instance, Reinhardt M. Kristensen, Łukasz Michalczyk, and Łukasz Kaczmarek, “The First Record of the Genus Bryodelphax (Tardigrada: Heterotardigrada: Echiniscidae) from Easter Island, Rapa Nui (Pacific Ocean, Chile) with the Description of a New Species, Bryodelphax aaseae,” Zootaxa 2343:45–56 (2010); Łukasz Kaczmarek and Łukasz Michalczyk, “Two New Species of Macrobiotidae, Macrobiotus szeptyckii (harmsworthi Group) and Macrobiotus kazmierskii (hufelandi Group) from Argentina,” Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia 52B(1–2):87–99, Kraków, June 30, 2009; Łukasz Kaczmarek, and Łukasz Michalczyk, “New Records of Water Bears (Tardiigrada, Eutardiigrada) from Romania” Studia Universitatis 18 (suppl., 2008); Peter Degma, Łukasz Michalczyk, and Łukasz Kaczmarek, “ Macrobiotus derkai, a New Species of Tardigrada (Eutardigrada, Macrobiotidae, huziori Group) from the Colom bian Andes (South America),” Zootaxa 1731 (2008):1–23; Cheon Young Chang, Łukasz Kaczmarek, Ji Min Lee, and Łukasz Michalczyk, “ Pseudobiotus spinifer, a New Tardigrade Species (Eutardigrada: Hypsibiidae) from Nakdong River, South Korea, with a Redescription of P. vladimiri Biserov, Dudichev & Biserova,” Zoological Science 24 (2007): 623–629.

• 20. For example, see Q. Schiermeier, “‘Rain-Making’ Bacteria Found around the World,” Nature News, February 28, 2008; K. A. Pratt et al., “Detection of Biological Particles in Cloud Ice Crystals,” Nature Geoscience, May 17, 2009.

• 21. Seewww.darksky.org.

• 22. For a discussion of some of the threats to the survival of this tree, see Corey Kilgannon, “In Obscurity, The Tallest and Oldest New Yorker,” New York Times, March 27, 2004.

• 23. Stockholm County, “Outings Guide to 33 Protected Natural Areas in Stockholm County,” undated, Stockholm, Sweden.

• 24. Ibid., p. 39.

• 25. New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, “Alley Pond Park,” found atwww.nycgovparks.org/parks/alleypondpark, accessed September 10, 2009.

• 26. See Leslie Day, Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City, Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, Maryland, 2007. See alsowww.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/parks_divisions/nrg/forever_wild/foreverwild_home.html.

• 27. See Gateway National Recreational Area,www.nps.gov/gate/naturescience/animals.htm, accessed May 27, 2010. For a review of climate change impacts on and implications for Jamaica Bay, see Columbia University, Long-Term Resource Management under a Changing Climate, 2009, found atwww.nps.gov/gate/parknews/long-term-resource-management-under-a-changing-climate.htm, accessed May 27, 2010.

• 28. At the very end of the Canyonlands white paper, it identifies “next steps,” for the most part very sensible and perhaps obvious things that need to happen to elevate the visibility of the solid advice of “broadening the constituency” in support of canyons and canyon preservation. This seems an essential step. More specifically, the report says, “Broaden the constituency for canyon preservation by raising awareness regarding the essential quality of life benefits derived from canyons. A good starting point is to organize speaking tours with residents and community planning groups throughout San Diego. With respect to groups representing different priorities, it is necessary to identify common ground and interests in order to build broad coalitions. This will involve articulating and quantifying relationships between the economy, quality of life, and the canyons.” San Diego Civic Solutions, 2006, p. 20.

• 29. “Nature in the City: A Guide to San Francisco’s Natural Heritage,” July 2007, Nature in the City, a project of Earth Island Institute, San Francisco.

• 30. Peter Brastow, Nature in the City, “Journal,” Earth Island Institute, undated.

• 31. Lucy Hutcherson, “Chicago Wilderness: A Collaborative Model for Urban Conservation,” in Ted Trzyna, ed., The Urban Imperative: Urban Outreach Strategies for Protected Area Agencies, Sacramento: InterEnvironment, California Institute of Public Affairs, 2003, p. 138.

• 32. Chicago Wilderness Consortium, Atlas of Biodiversity, Chicago: Chi cago Region Biodiversity Council, 2001.

• 33. Chicago Wilderness Consortium, Biodiversity Recovery Plan, Chicago: Chicago Wilderness Consortium, 1999.

• 34. Larry Rizzo, Kansas City Wildlands, Jefferson City, Missouri Department of Conservation, 2001.

• 35. Ibid., p. 49.

• 36. Erik Gleibermann, “Grab a Latte and Bike but Watch Out for Bears,” Boston Globe, February 15, 2009, p. M3 travel; Yereth Rosen, “The Moose Babysitter,” Christian Science Monitor, July 19, 2007, p. 20 features, currents.

• 37. See “Anchorage Trails System Adds to Quality of Life,” atwww.americantrails.org.

• 38. Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation, “Living with Wildlife in Anchorage,” Anchorage, Alaska, 2000, p. 39.

• 39. A study of 500 coyote scat samples in Calgary, Canada found that only about 1 percent had the remains of domestic animals. Nick Lewis, “Research Defends City’s Wiley Coyotes,” Calgary Herald, June 26, 2009.

• 40. “Coyotes within City Limits,” a segment of the radio show Which Way LA, KCRW, November 2009.

• 41. King County, Washington, King County Biodiversity Report, 2008, p. 57.

• 42. Peter Brastow, “Urban Nature and Franciscan Natural Resources Facts and FAQs,” Nature in the City, found atwww.natureinthecity.org/sf%20nature%20factsandfaq.pdf, accessed May 27, 2010.

• 43. Walter R. Schinkel, “The Nest Architecture of the Florida Harvester Ant, Pogonomyrmes,” Journal of Insect Science 4 (2004):21.

• 44. Max Planck Institute, “Hairy Feet Stick Better to Wet Ceilings,” press rel ease, November 9, 2005, found atwww.mpg.de/english/illustrationsDocumentation/documentation/pressReleases/2005/pressRelease20051109/, accessed February 26, 2010.

• 45. E. O. Wilson, The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth, New York: Norton, 2006, p. 18.

• 46. Ibid., p. 32.

• 47. Morgan E. Helm, “Denver’s Street Smart Prairie Dogs,” October 2, 2009, found atwww.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Denvers-Street-Smar-Prairie-Dogs.html.

• 48. Jill Bolte Taylor, My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey, New York: Plume, 2009, p. 20.

• 49. For more about spring peepers, seewww.dnr.state.md.us/features/spring_peepers.asp.

• 50. I first learned of this observation and of the Kroodsma book from an excellent column by Margaret Wooster, “Winter Solstice Is the First Day of Spring,” in River Currents, December 2009, an e-newsletter of the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeepers.

• 51. Peter R. Marler and Hans Slabbekoorn, Nature’s Music: The Science of Birdsong, San Diego: Elsevier Academic Press, 2004.

• 52. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, “Welcome to Devonian Fossil Gorge,” found atwww.mvr.usace.army.mil/coralville/default.htm, accessed May 27, 2010.

• 53. Tom Dean, “Finding Devonian,” in Living with Topsoil: Tending Spirits, Cherishing Land, North Liberty, IA: Ice Cube Press, 2004.

• 54. Leslie Day, Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.

• 55. Ibid., p. 22.

• 56. Eric Sanderson, Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City, New York: Abrams, 2009.

• 57. Ibid., p. 138.

• 58. Ibid., p. 204.

• 59. Ibid., p. 242. By 2409, Sanderson speculates, people will live “in a necklace of unique and extraordinary cities on only 36 percent of the land (assuming the same density as modern Manhattan), surrounded by farms, wildlands, and a restored and thriving estuary, with boundaries redrawn by climate change.”