Cities and Biodiversity: Hidden Connections Between the Built Form and Life

Gopalan, Radha and Radhakrishna, Sindhu (2022) Cities and Biodiversity: Hidden Connections Between the Built Form and Life. In: Blue-Green Infrastructure Across Asian Countries: Improving Urban Resilience and Sustainability. Springer Singapore, Singapore, pp. 141-162. ISBN 978-981-16-7128-9

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Abstract

Urbanisation is perhaps the most crucial factor affecting the environment in the Anthropocene. Not only does urban development directly impact the biotic elements in the environment by causing changes in land cover and degradation of natural habitat, it also indirectly affects the living environment by altering abiotic components such as temperature, rainfall, soil conditions, humidity, etc. The biodiversity that exists within the contours of built environments emerges from the complex interactions between anthropogenic actions and the surrounding environment. While some floral and faunal species gain from human interventions, others decline in response to human-caused alterations to the habitat. The evolution of cities, and the biodiversity that they shape, is not only impacted by the geography and climate of the region, but is also affected by sociopolitical changes in the human communities that reside within the cities. Using a historical lens, and the examples of three Asian cities, this chapter examines how urban biodiversity evolved and was produced in different ecogeographic zones in the continent at different time periods. Drawing insights from these different patterns of urban biodiversity, the chapter explores the multitudinous ways in which cities and biodiversity have interacted over the years, the changing conceptualisations of urban biodiversity and the many challenges that face sustainable urban biodiversity.

Item Type:	Book Section
Authors:	Gopalan, Radha and Radhakrishna, Sindhu
Editors:	Editors Email ORCID Dhyani, Shalini UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Basu, Mrittika UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Santhanam, Harini UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Dasgupta, Rajarshi UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
Document Language:	Language English
Subjects:	Social sciences > Sociology & anthropology > Communities > Planning and development > Development > Urban development Social sciences > Economics > Production > Sustainable development Natural Sciences > Life sciences; biology > Ecology
Divisions:	Azim Premji University - Bengaluru > School of Development
Full Text Status:	None
URI:	http://publications.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/id/eprint/7502
Publisher URL:	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7128-9_7

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