How Many Principles of Urban Ecology Are There?

By Steward T.A. Pickett (Cary Institute) & Mary L. Cadenasso (University of California Davis) In 2008, we published a short paper on the principles of urban ecology (Cadenasso and Pickett […]

Urban Ecology at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America

The meeting takes place in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, from 7-12 August. The meeting theme is Novel Ecosystems in the Anthropocene. Certainly this theme is right in our urban niche!  Details […]

Community Awareness and Field Safety Training

Every year, about this time, the Baltimore Ecosystem Study hosts its Community Awareness and Field Safety training.  We expect that every new participant in BES, whether student or senior professor, […]

BES Adopts a Co-Directorship Model

Preparing for transitions in leadership in Long-Term Ecological Research projects is a big job.  The Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) has been preparing for its leadership succession since 2013.  Emma agreed […]

Yes, But What Theory Are You Testing?

Urban ecology talks and papers often begin with statements like these: More than half the world’s human population now lives in cities. Urban areas in the United States cover 3% […]

The Invisible in the City

Much that happens in cities — urban areas more broadly — is not obvious to the naked eye or to casual observation.  The invisible things in urban social-ecological systems represent […]

“Why Does Baltimore Look Like It Does?”

I had the pleasure of contributing to a field trip of visiting landscape architecture students and their professor recently.  Getting out in the neighborhoods and habitats in Baltimore is always […]

Where did Urban Ecology Come From? Zev Naveh and the Total Human Ecosystem

Encountering Zev Naveh – A force of nature One answer to the question of where urban ecology came from has to point to Zev Naveh.  When I first heard Zev […]

Urban Ecology Takes a Long Time

We are extraordinarily fortunate in Baltimore to have long-term support for our urban social-ecological research and engagement.  BES is funded in 6 year increments, subject to review and approval by […]

A New School of Urban Ecology: Contributions from Baltimore

Modern American urban ecology can be said to have come to fruition to a large extent in Baltimore.  Of course there are other cities where parallel, reinforcing, or complementary research […]