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Three Tides: The Development and State of the Art of Urban Ecological Science

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Resilience in Ecology and Urban Design

Part of the book series: Future City ((FUCI,volume 3))

Abstract

The development of the science of urban ecology in the United States has not been continuous. We identify three specific periods during the twentieth century when the application of ecological science to understanding the structure and dynamics of urban areas gained momentum. We begin with the Chicago School of the 1920s and 1930s that applied concepts from ecological science to understand the spatial differentiation of people and land uses. The second period considered the city as a system. The third, and contemporary period, advocates an inclusive approach that considers cities as integrated ecological and social systems. We use the metaphor of tides to frame our discussion of the developments that allowed the tide to come in and that perhaps also caused that tide to ebb. Each tide however, contributed approaches and understandings that were ready to be used upon the arrival of the next tide.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank their colleagues in the Baltimore Ecosystem Studies for years of cross-disciplinary learning and Kirsten Schwarz for making the figures. Support for this work was from the National Science Foundation, Long Term Ecological Research program and a NSF Career grant (No. 0844778) to MLC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Ave, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    M. L. Cadenasso

  2. Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, AB, 2801, Sharon Turnpike, Millbrook, NY, 12545, USA

    S. T. A. Pickett

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  1. M. L. Cadenasso
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  2. S. T. A. Pickett
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Correspondence to M. L. Cadenasso .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Sharon Turnpike 2801, Millbrook, 12545-0129, New York, USA

    S.T.A. Pickett

  2. , Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Shields Avenue 1, Davis, 95616, California, USA

    M.L. Cadenasso

  3. , Sch Constructed Environments, Parsons the New School for Design, East 13th Street 25, New York, 10011, New York, USA

    Brian McGrath

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Cadenasso, M.L., Pickett, S.T.A. (2013). Three Tides: The Development and State of the Art of Urban Ecological Science. In: Pickett, S., Cadenasso, M., McGrath, B. (eds) Resilience in Ecology and Urban Design. Future City, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5341-9_2

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