A New School of Urban Ecology: Contributions from Baltimore
The Relationship of the Baltimore School to the Baltimore Ecosystem Study
The Baltimore School owes a great deal to the Baltimore Ecosystem Study. The Baltimore Ecosystem Study, like its sibling the Central Arizona-Phoenix project, is a National Science Foundation-supported research and education project, first funded in 1998. Indeed, the long-term funding of integrated urban social-ecological research started by the NSF in these two projects is a major reason that contemporary urban ecological science now exists as a part of mainstream ecology and as an important cross-disciplinary effort. Additionally, urban research in Seattle, Chicago, New York and Boston has also grown rapidly over the last 20 years. Deeper roots of urban ecology in Europe and Asia have “hybridized” with the emerging American contributions to produce a broad, integrated, and rapidly evolving discipline (McPhearson et al. 2016).
- Pursue excellence in social-ecological research in an urban system;
- Maintain positive engagement with communities, environmental institutions, and government agencies;
- Educate and inform the public, students, and organizations that have need of scientific knowledge; and
- Assemble and nurture a diverse and inclusive community of researchers, educators, and participants.
What is a School of Thought?
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The Chicago School – first wave of US urban ecology. |
Contemporary Urban Ecology as a School of Thought and Practice
The Baltimore School is much more than a point-by-point refutation of the Chicago School. Indeed, some of the practices of the Chicagoans, such as case study and empirical studies on the ground in communities, are mainstays of contemporary social-ecological understanding. However, there are features that have emerged in contemporary urban ecology that are worth highlighting (Cadenasso et al. 2006a).
Go Where the Data Lead You
Where is the Baltimore School?
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Baltimore PS 103, Attended by Thurgood Marshall |