Urban Ecology最新文献

India's urban water supply systems have been deteriorating due to various factors, such as high rural—urban migration, regional disparities in water resources and low priority status. Administrative and management lacunae have further affected the systems.

This paper examines the various aspects of urban water supply in India, such as quantity, quality and equity of distribution, the financial viability, variability and resilience or ability to withstand shock. A number of suggestions are made for improvement in the urban water supply.

This paper will examine the animal-related knowledge and attitudes of urban Americans. The data is derived from a national study of 3107 randomly distributed Americans. The urban population of this sample consisted of 1392 respondents. Urban respondents are distinguished by residence in varying city sizes and suburban locations. A typology of ten basic animal-related attitudes are used to assess fundamental environmental perceptions. A scale is also employed to differentiate animal-related knowledge. Major differences in knowledge and attitudes are described among urban residents distinguished by area of residence, age, sex, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

A need in urban forestry planning is to learn whether neighborhood populations are satisfied with existing vegetation configurations and how people might react to planned changes. This knowledge would help to evaluate neighborhood plans and justify city program expenditures. An exponential model for estimating popular satisfaction rates is provided that generates an expected rate for any tree stocking level in a neighborhood's land uses. Estimated satisfaction rates for 67 of Dayton, Ohio's 79 neighborhoods are obtained, and these indicate that rates as low as 56 percent of a neighborhood's population and as high as 87% can be expected for Dayton's urban vegetation configuration. These results tend to match expectations insofar as neighborhood-based attitudes are currently understood. Suggestions for improving the model are offered, but these are tempered against the strong constraints of available knowledge of neighborhood vegetation and popular attitudes toward this visual resource.

Throughout history the sky has inspired and excited, induced a sense of tranquility and provoked feelings of fear and uncertainty in human kind. It provides a setting for viewing birds and planes, enframes scenic vistas, informs about meteorological phenomena and has had spiritual connotations since the earliest times of recorded history.

This paper reports on a study of metropolitan area residents' perceptions of the sky. Questions of awareness of the sky and potential differences in regional perceptions are explored. A brief historical review is presented highlighting how, at various times in the distant and recent past, the sky has been valued and perceived both as an object, as a background or setting against which objects are viewed, as a source of information and as a symbol. These images and perceptions provide a general framework for subsequent discussion of perceptions of residents of five metropolitan areas.

There is little systematic information about the public's use and perception of natural settings in cities, yet such information would be extremely useful to managers, planners, and people who use urban sites for recreation and leisure. This research reports two studies which focused on the public's ‘image’ of urban parks. The contributions of these studies include the definition and measurement of image, analysis of relationships between image and behavior, an intervention to change the public's image, and application of research results to park management and planning needs. Results from surveys of residents living near parks in three New England cities reveal that park image is a substantial and consistent predictor of an individual's decision to use a park, and that the descriptive component of image (knowledge of the park) can be improved significantly by a mailed brochure. This process of understanding the needs, interests and concerns of park users can improve the opportunities for urban recreation and can enhance the public's image and use of urban parks.

To date, urban forestry has not developed a management approach that is suited to both the capacities of foresters and the realities of the urban context. Neighborhood stands are proposed as the organizing unit for such an approach. A neighborhood stand is defined as a component of the urban forest composed of contiguous trees, along with associated vegetative and environmental components that have relatively homogenous physical, biological, social and perceived characteristics. This paper reports the results of a study investigating the neighborhood stand concept by describing the variation in the character and perceptions of the urban forest in three neighborhoods identified by 22 community service workers in Syracuse, NY. A total of 261 interviews were completed in these neighborhoods. Neighborhoods are investigated for patterns with respect to: (1) household demographics; (2) evaluations of city-wide issues; (3) perceived neighborhood characteristics; (4) desired house and yard qualities; and (5) the physical condition of structures and vegetation. Several neighborhood-related patterns are found to exist. In particular, the perception of neighborhood quality is more related to neighborhood location than respondent characteristics and most related to the physical condition of the immediate surrounding environment.

The stresses and strains of the urban environment are widely acknowledged. The means for recovery, for recuperation, are perhaps less evident. In particular, the role of environmental configurations in this process is often neglected in the measurement of quality of life.

The urban natural environment can provide the setting for such restorative experiences, both physically and conceptually. A theoretical analysis is presented that focuses on the importance of fascination and coherence as essential processes in the powerful effects of the nature context. When these are both afforded by the setting, many of the benefits available in more remote natural settings may be available in the nearby urban context as well. The bits and pieces of urban nature are significant not only in terms of active recreational encounters. The view of trees and birds, the thought of spring to come, and the plans for summer's window box can all help in the restorative experience.