Weeds and the City

Few ideas are as loaded — and as controversial — as that of “weed.”  Combine this familiar term with the equally problematic term urban, and surely, confusion is guaranteed to […]

What Did BES Do Last Year? The 2012 Annual Report

Who did this work? The Baltimore Ecosystem Study, Long-Term Ecological Research Program is a large, complex, and active endeavor.  Its participants include 40 researchers, educators, and leaders in community engagement.  […]

Coupled? Hybrid? Or Just Systems?

Having recently returned from the first Congress of the Society of Urban Ecology, I can report that there was a lot of talk in the plenary sessions about the nature […]

What Does Collapse Tell Us About Resilience?

The adaptve cycle is key to understanding resilience as an integrated ecological and social construct.  The cycle is introduced elsewhere in this Web Log (http://besdirector.blogspot.com/2011/01/resilience-ecology-evolution-and.html) as well as briefly defined […]

Myth and Memory of Rivers and Shorelines

One of the first things I experienced when learning how to get around Baltimore was the mash up of its multiple street grids.  First I have to admit that most […]

Preparing for the BES Mid-Term Review: What Does NSF Want?

Here are the current expectations as stated by the National Science Science Foundation that will be used in evaluating BES.  The Mid-Term Review will take place in October, and this […]

Patterson Clark Named BES Artist-In-Residence for 2013

I am extremely excited to announce that Patterson Clark is the BES 2013 Artist-In-Residence.  Here is a description of his work, based on text provided by the selection committee, consisting […]

BES Book of the Year: Austin Troy’s “The Very Hungry City”

Each year, BES chooses a Book of the Year.  This allows our community to share in exploring an important work on urban ecology and urban processes in general. For 2013, […]

The Problem of the Urban Landscape

I was recently accused of bringing a wilderness or rural approach to urban landscapes.  This surprised me since I have long had what I think of as an inclusive concept […]

Quarterly Project Meeting on BES III Conceptual Structure

On 25 January 2013, BES will hold a half day session on the conceptual structure of phase III of the project.      This meeting will run from 8:30 till […]