Estimating stormwater runoff for community gardens in New York City

Community gardens are critical ecological infrastructure in cities providing an important link between people and urban nature. The documented benefits of community gardens include food production, recreational opportunities, and a wide number of social benefits such as improving community stability, reducing crime, and physical and mental health benefits. While much of the literature cites community gardens as providing environmental benefits for cities, there is little empirical evidence of these benefits. Here we examine the stormwater runoff benefits of community gardens by comparing two methods to estimate absorption rates of stormwater runoff in urban community gardens of New York City. The first method uses general land cover classes as determined by a land cover dataset; the second methods adds a land cover specific to community gardens — raised beds, typically used for food production. We find that in addition to the stormwater mitigation performed by pervious surfaces within a garden site, community gardens in New York City may be retaining an additional 12 million gallons (~45 million liters) of stormwater annually due to the widespread use of raised beds with compost as a soil amendment.     

Comparing community garden typologies of Baltimore,Chicago, and New York City (USA) to understand potential implications for socio-ecological services

Urban community gardens offer unique social and ecological benefits in cities. However, given the dynamic nature of cities and the profound effects of variable land uses on green space provisioning for people and wildlife, investigating community gardens from a landscape perspective offers valuable insight into the functions of these spaces in terms of ecosystem services and sustainable development. In this study, we use garden locations provided by stakeholder groups and fine-scale spatial data to compare community gardens across three cities: New York City, NY, Chicago, IL, and Baltimore, MD (USA). In each city, we assess the spatial distribution of gardens and compare the natural vegetation and impervious surface cover within these gardens to the surrounding neighborhood and landscape. We then compared these cities to clarify the role of community gardens in metropolitan development. Our findings demonstrate that gardens cluster in neighborhoods in New York City and Chicago, but they are more spatially distributed across the landscape in Baltimore. The distribution of Baltimore’s community gardens is more likely to be contributing to a greater network of ecosystem services across a broader urban landscape. Moreover, at the garden scale, gardens in NYC and Chicago have more canopy cover and built infrastructure than the more herbaceous gardens in Baltimore. This suggests that our case study cities exhibit different garden typologies, histories, and potential for ecosystem services. This work provides critical insight into the typology in and around community gardens in different cities, which is useful in understanding the potential ecosystem services and planning trajectories of these cities.

     

Urban infrastructure: Trends,needs and the role of aid

The benefits of urban services have to be made accessible to increasing numbers of low income families in less developed countries. High levels of service are unlikely to be sustainable, and success depends upon addressing the key issues of Affordability and Maintenance. The complex interactions between technical, financial and social factors must be considered. The provision of high standards of service by implementing agencies is expensive and reflects neither the priorities of the beneficiaries nor their ability to pay. It is more effective to provide only the most basic level of service (primary level infrastructure) at the outset, which can subsequently be upgraded. The community should be able to take individual and collective responsibility for their priorities in improving the services based upon what they can afford. Primary level infrastructure is provided without cost recovery, with subsequent improvements being funded through loans to individuals and the community. It is easier both to recover costs from and to maintain individual plot service connections; however, the installation costs and tariffs must be affordable. Efficient operation and maintenance is essential. This is frequently the responsibility of an urban local authority who should be fully involved throughout; design and implementation should take account of their technical and financial capabilities.The factors which should be considered in the implementation of urban infrastructure can be summarised by the “Five I's”: Incremental improvement; Involving people; Individual services; Income related; Institutional.Possible implications for external aid are: (1) funding of primary level infrastructure for identifiable communities, including support for continued community development; (2) funding loans for infrastructure upgrading, with loan repayments forming a revolving fund; (3) strengthening the financial and managerial performance of urban local authorities; (4) technical training for housing authorities, urban local authorities, and public utilities.     

New Economy Businesses in Rural,Urban, and Metropolitan Locations

Abstract The service sector has replaced manufacturing as the primary employer in the United States. Fastest growing within this sector are producer services, i.e., those businesses that provide service inputs to other businesses and government. Theorists posit that the propensity of producer services to locate in metro areas advantages cities in relation to rural areas. They argue that significant numbers of producer services are unlikely to locate in rural areas due to the economic and cultural benefits offered by central cities and that producer services in rural locations are qualitatively different from metro firms. Perceptions of the environment, management strategies, and community citizenship were analyzed with data from 259 producer service business owners and managers in Iowa rural, urban, and metropolitan communities. The findings point to qualitative differences between the businesses based on community size, but also many similarities were found. Rural producer services reported more community citizenship than other businesses.     

Adaptive governance to promote ecosystem services in urban green spaces

Managing urban green space as part of an ongoing social-ecological transformation poses novel governance issues, particularly in post-industrial settings. Urban green spaces operate as small-scale nodes in larger networks of ecological reserves that provide and maintain key ecosystem services such as pollination, water retention and infiltration, and sustainable food production. In an urban mosaic, a myriad of social and ecological components factor into aggregating and managing land to maintain or increase the flow of ecosystem services associated with green spaces. Vacant lots (a form of urban green space) are being repurposed for multiple functions, such as habitat for biodiversity, including arthropods that provide pollination services to other green areas; to capture urban runoff that eases the burden on ageing wastewater systems and other civic infrastructure; and to reduce urban heat island effects. Because of the uncertainty and complexities of managing for ecosystem services in urban settings, we advocate for a governance approach that is adaptive and iterative in nature—adaptive governance—to address the ever changing social order underlying post-industrial cities and offer the rise of land banks as an example of governance innovation.     

Urban flooding,social equity,and “backyard” green infrastructure: An area for multidisciplinary practice

ABSTRACT

“Backyard” green infrastructure programs are an innovative way to manage urban stormwater, with many social and ecologic benefits. In many programs, however, residents with lower incomes are not reached, though they could benefit from participation, and though their participation could benefit the socioecological system. We examined awareness of and interest in backyard green infrastructure among lower- and moderate-income residents (N = 234). Awareness among our study population is low to moderate, but interest is moderate to high, with variability by some demographic and other characteristics. A spouse/partner, city agency, and/or neighbor may have influential roles in increasing participation in backyard green infrastructure.     

Broadening the Array of Services: Integrating Legal and Social Work Services for Youth and Families

ABSTRACT

The Community Justice and Legal Assistance Clinic (CJLA) is a unique community-based legal clinic developed through a partnership between a law school and a child and family service agency embedded within a low-income community. This article describes the development of this clinic through a community assessment process; its unique multidisciplinary features; the services provided to clients in three of the agency's service areas; the benefits of the partnership for clients, the social service agency, the participating law students, and the law school; and lessons learned for replication of this type of clinic in other communities.     

Urban and agricultural soils: conflicts and trade-offs in the optimization of ecosystem services

On-going human population growth and changing patterns of resource consumption are increasing global demand for ecosystem services, many of which are provided by soils. Some of these ecosystem services are linearly related to the surface area of pervious soil, whereas others show non-linear relationships, making ecosystem service optimization a complex task. As limited land availability creates conflicting demands among various types of land use, a central challenge is how to weigh these conflicting interests and how to achieve the best solutions possible from a perspective of sustainable societal development. These conflicting interests become most apparent in soils that are the most heavily used by humans for specific purposes: urban soils used for green spaces, housing, and other infrastructure and agricultural soils for producing food, fibres and biofuels. We argue that, despite their seemingly divergent uses of land, agricultural and urban soils share common features with regards to interactions between ecosystem services, and that the trade-offs associated with decision-making, while scale- and context-dependent, can be surprisingly similar between the two systems. We propose that the trade-offs within land use types and their soil-related ecosystems services are often disproportional, and quantifying these will enable ecologists and soil scientists to help policy makers optimizing management decisions when confronted with demands for multiple services under limited land availability.     

Influence of habitat type and distance from source area on bird taxonomic and functional diversity in a Neotropical megacity

The Neotropical region has been subjected to massive urbanization, which poses high risks for some global biodiversity hotspots and losses of ecosystem functions and services. In this study, we investigate how distance from large patches of native forests (source areas) and vegetation (green)/and infrastructure (gray) characteristics affect bird species richness and functional diversity in São Paulo megacity, southeastern Brazil. We analyzed the effects of source areas and green/gray characteristics on species richness and functional diversity (richness, evenness, and divergence) indices. We detected 231 bird species, and our data confirmed our predictions: (1) bird species richness in urbanized habitats was found to be (~?50–85%) lower than in source habitats; (2) species richness and trait composition significantly decreased as the distance from the source area increased, while functional richness was not affected by this metric; and (3) shrub and herbaceous covers and maximum height of trees were positively correlated with species richness and unique functional traits regarding habitat, diet, foraging and nesting strata and dispersal ability of birds in the forest-urban matrix. The number of buildings was negatively correlated with bird species richness and functional richness. Maximum height of buildings caused dramatic declines in functional evenness. Functional divergence was notably lower in sites with high shrub cover. Our study stresses the complexity of vegetation embedded in large Neotropical urban settlements and the need to maintain large protected areas surrounding megacities to mitigate the impacts of urbanization on birds.

     

Vegetation on and around large-scale buildings positively influences native tropical bird abundance and bird species richness

High population growth in the tropics is driving urbanisation, removing diverse natural ecosystems. This is causing native species to suffer while introduced synanthropes flourish. City planners are developing urban greenspace networks, in part trying to address this issue. Architects contribute to these greenspace networks by designing elevated and ground level green spaces on large-scale buildings. However, little evidence is available on whether building green spaces support native fauna. This is true for birds in tropical Singapore that support important ecosystem services and have existence value. Therefore, in this study, we conducted bird surveys and statistical analyses to determine, if and how vegetation on three building green space types (ground gardens, roof gardens and green walls) have a positive impact on native or introduced bird species. We found that elevated greenery (roof gardens and green walls) on large-scale buildings supported a higher richness of birds and abundance of urban native birds than control roofs and walls without vegetation. Ground gardens supported similar levels of native species as roof gardens but also a larger proportion of generalist synanthropes. However, we found no tropical forest habitat specialists across any space type. Therefore, we recommend roof gardens and ground gardens as a potential space for urban natives outside of a less competitive ground-level urban environment. Our study also found certain building design elements (height of elevated space, presence of specific plants) supported different species groups. Therefore, we suggest that these ecological requirements for different species groups are considered when designing a building’s green space.

     

Evaluating the effects of canine urine on urban soil microbial communities

Due to extensive areas of impermeable surfaces, combined sewer overflow (CSO) is currently a major problem in urban areas across the United States. In CSO systems, sewage can travel through underground pipes to be decontaminated in treatment facilities, or it can combine with stormwater after a precipitation event and discharge into local waterways. Many cities are implementing green infrastructure installations, which use vegetation and bioactive soil microbial communities to enhance soil water-holding capacity, thereby minimizing CSO events. Understanding the factors that structure soil microbial communities in green infrastructure will facilitate more effective management of these engineered ecosystems; however, few studies to date have evaluated ecological patterns and processes of microbes in the urban environment. Nitrogen loading is known to be a major factor structuring fungi and bacteria in non-urban soils, and since cities also contain large populations of canines, N-rich urine deposition is a potential factor that could be important for structuring soil microbes in ground-level green infrastructure installations. Our study investigated the effects of canine urine on the urban soil microbial communities in a greenhouse experiment by treating Liriope muscari, a common plant found in New York City green infrastructure, with different concentrations of canine urine for 4 weeks in an experimental setting. We found that urine application significantly decreased total soil microbial biomass and microbial richness, and increased water runoff volume. These findings indicate that canine urine may have negative consequences for soil water-holding capacity and nutrient cycling in urban green infrastructure installations by directly decreasing the abundance and richness of soil microbial communities.

     

Hurricane driven changes in vegetation structure and ecosystem services in tropical urban yards: a study case in San Juan,Puerto Rico

Urban forests are valuable spaces for species conservation, protection of local biodiversity and provision of ecosystem services. However, they are also vulnerable to the impact of extreme climate events like hurricanes. Understanding how urban forests are responding to hurricane disturbances is crucial to improve their design, management, and resilience. Here we analyzed pre-and post-hurricane vegetation surveys in 52 residential yards in San Juan to assess urban forest responses after Hurricanes Irma and María impacted Puerto Rico in 2017. We used these surveys to compare vegetation structure and composition (including species-specific mortality and damage rates) and to quantify changes in the ecosystem services provided by these yards. We found that hurricane disturbances significantly altered the structure but not the composition of yard vegetation. We detected a 27% reduction and 31% mortality of standing stems, and a significant reduction in plants health. Yard species composition was dominated by non-native species and this trend did not change with hurricane disturbance. Changes in vegetation structure translated into substantial reductions in ecosystem services. Food provision, an important service provided by a large proportion of yards before the hurricane, reported the highest reduction (41.9%) while carbon storage was the service that changed the least (9%). Our combined results emphasize the key role played by residential yards providing ecosystem services in tropical cities and call for further efforts to manage private and public urban forests in ways that may ensure their resilience to mitigate extreme climate events, provide multiple ecosystem services, and promote long-term urban sustainability.

     

Ecosystem services of urban green spaces in African countries—perspectives and challenges

The concept of ecosystem goods and services is increasingly used to describe how biodiversity and ecosystems are linked to human well-being and that it should be placed at the core of sustainable urban development. Predictions of a tremendous future increase of urbanization in Africa necessitate an investigation into the research on ecosystem goods and services in the urban green infrastructure of Africa. Ecosystem goods and services (ES) are described as the benefits humans derive directly or indirectly from ecosystem functions and are classified as supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural services. A literature study focusing on journal papers was conducted. Additionally a case study based on two masters studies was further refined. ES studies in African cities are biased towards South Africa and include assessments and economic valuations in which several different methods were used to determine direct consumptive and non-consumptive and indirect use values. Emphasis was placed on the multifunctional nature of ES. The main objectives of these studies were to sensitize policy makers, planners and the general public about the importance of biodiversity and ES. Ecosystem-based adaptation is discussed as the most appropriate approach in terms of applying knowledge about ES and their values in African cities as many residents still rely on ES from natural areas, but the major ecological, economic and political challenges are acknowledged. A case study focusing on domestic gardens (private green spaces) have indicated that the demand and supply of certain ES differ along a socio-economic gradient due to poor service delivery and smaller plots in the poorer areas mainly due to the legacy of separate development of the past. Where provisioning services are mainly outsourced in cities, it was found that plant species useful as food, medicine, etc. were more frequent in the gardens of poorer residents than in those of more affluent areas. The tendency to pay more for residential properties close to public open spaces, as in Europe, could not be statistically proven in the more affluent areas of a South African city, although the property values in proximity of public open spaces in some of the areas studied were lower than further away.     

Floral biodiversity of allotment gardens and its contribution to urban green infrastructure

Allotment gardens are a key feature of the urban landscape, providing numerous benefits beyond those of food production. These include ecosystem services such as local climate modification, pollination, and providing a pleasant location for socialising. The biodiversity of flora underpins many of these ecosystem services. The aims of this study are to assess the spontaneous vascular flora of urban allotment gardens and derive estimates of the species richness and diversity. In doing so, the specific position of allotment gardens within urban green infrastructure will be revealed and the role of allotment users in shaping local biodiversity determined. 358 species of spontaneous flora were recorded in 11 representative allotment garden estates (total area 150 ha) in Poznań, Poland. Fourteen biodiversity features were taken into account. The investigated areas exhibited high plant species richness, high diversity, low synanthropisation level, and contained valuable geobotanical elements, including plants of key importance for the European Community. For these reasons, allotment gardens should be considered as biodiversity hotspots for native species within urban green infrastructure. Based on an analysis of the spatial and functional organization of 110 individual plots, four types of usage, and corresponding plant diversity have been distinguished. The composition of the flora depends mostly on spatial and functional organization of allotment gardens and, to a much lesser extent, on the habitat conditions, which on individual plots varied very little. The high species richness and diversity in allotment gardens has important consequences for urban planning.     

Coupling human preferences with biophysical processes: modeling the effect of citizen attitudes on potential urban stormwater runoff

Green infrastructure (GI) is gaining wide popularity as a means to reduce urban stormwater runoff. The challenges to long-term success of many GI policies, however, depend on citizen understanding and willingness to be engaged in the process of GI implementation. In this study, we developed a conceptual model that incorporated human preferences and biophysical processes in a coupled manner to estimate stormwater runoff variation at the sewershed scale under different acceptable GI implementation scenarios. To investigate resident receptivity toward GI implementation, we conducted surveys in selected Syracuse sewersheds and developed the scenario of residents implementing rain barrels and rain gardens in their private properties based on the survey results. We simulated this scenario at the lot level using the model we developed within the framework of the EPA SWMM 5 model to estimate reductions in peak flow and total runoff volume for major storm events. With our model, we also tested the effect of planned government tree planting scenarios. The scenario simulations were applied in three urban sewersheds of varying socio-economic and biophysical structures in the City of Syracuse, New York. The simulation results indicated that both the “government participation” and “household participation” scenarios, compared to pre-GI-development conditions, would contribute to a modest reduction in stormwater peak flow (>4 %) and total runoff volume (>5 %) across the simulated sewersheds. This study provides decision makers with a scientific methodology to quantify how human decisions can shape ecosystem function, and thus support sustainable stormwater management planning while addressing citizen preferences and needs.     

The urban watershed continuum: evolving spatial and temporal dimensions

Urban ecosystems are constantly evolving, and they are expected to change in both space and time with active management or degradation. An urban watershed continuum framework recognizes a continuum of engineered and natural hydrologic flowpaths that expands hydrologic networks in ways that are seldom considered. It recognizes that the nature of hydrologic connectivity influences downstream fluxes and transformations of carbon, contaminants, energy, and nutrients across 4 space and time dimensions. Specifically, it proposes that (1) first order streams are largely replaced by urban infrastructure (e.g. storm drains, ditches, gutters, pipes) longitudinally and laterally within watersheds, (2) there is extensive longitudinal and lateral modification of organic carbon and nutrient retention in engineered headwaters (3) there are longitudinal downstream pulses in material and energy exports that are amplified by interactive land-use and hydrologic variability, (4) there are vertical interactions between leaky pipes and ground water that influence stream solute transport, (5) the urban watershed continuum is a transformer and transporter of materials and energy based on hydrologic residence times, and (6) temporally, there is an evolution of biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem functions as land use and urban infrastructure change over time. We provide examples from the Baltimore Ecosystem Study Long-Term Ecological (LTER) site along 4 spatiotemporal dimensions. Long-term monitoring indicates that engineered headwaters increase downstream subsidies of nitrate, phosphate, sulfate, carbon, and metals compared with undeveloped headwaters. There are increased longitudinal transformations of carbon and nitrogen from suburban headwaters to more urbanized receiving waters. Hydrologic connectivity along the vertical dimension between ground water and leaky pipes from Baltimore??s aging infrastructure elevates stream solute concentrations. Across time, there has been increased headwater stream burial, evolving stormwater management, and long-term salinization of Baltimore??s drinking water supply. Overall, an urban watershed continuum framework proposes testable hypotheses of how transport/transformation of materials and energy vary along a continuum of engineered and natural hydrologic flowpaths in space and time. Given interest in transitioning from sanitary to sustainable cities, it is necessary to recognize the evolving relationship between infrastructure and ecosystem function along the urban watershed continuum.     

Urban gradients alter the diversity,specific composition and guild distribution in tropical butterfly communities

The increasing expansion of the urban environment has been considered one of the causes of biodiversity loss. Due to the decrease of the quantity and quality of habitats, this process causes the restriction of organisms to sometimes-specific microhabitats. The patterns of variation of the biodiversity along the environmental gradients, however, are still poorly understood. This study evaluated how urban gradients affect the diversity, specific composition and frequency of guild of the community of butterflies. Butterflies were collected in three transects continuously traversing the urban, rural and preserved habitats using baited traps and by active sampling. We found that the urban gradient acts as an environmental filter in the butterfly communities, reducing the richness and frequency of guilds of frugivorous butterflies, structuring the community through turnover, but without effects in the abundance. This study shows the importance of the urban gradients approach in the butterfly community and its applicability in the management of urban areas in order to include native vegetation along the gradients, aiming at increasing environmental heterogeneity, to preserve butterflies and maintain the ecosystem services and network interactions in altered landscapes.

     

Mangrove forests store high densities of carbon across the tropical urban landscape of Singapore

Tropical forested ecosystems provide multiple ecosystem services to rural and urban landscapes, with carbon storage gaining particular attention. Deforestation due to rural-urban transitions may lead to a reduction in carbon storage ability. Coastal mangrove forests are particularly at risk from deforestation due to their location in the rapidly urbanizing coastal zone, and the city state of Singapore is an extreme example, losing as much as 90 % of its original mangrove cover due to land reclamation and reservoir construction. Knowledge of mangrove ecosystem services may allow better conservation, restoration and incorporation of remaining mangrove patches into the urban landscape. Focusing on the regulating ecosystem service of carbon storage, mangrove carbon stocks have been estimated for Singapore using a combination of field and remote sensing techniques. Biomass carbon showed substantial spatial variation, with old, contiguous mangrove patches containing a higher density of biomass carbon than fragmented, river-fringing or restored mangroves. In total, national biomass carbon equated to 116,117.1 megagrams of carbon (Mg C), and a coarse estimate of the total carbon stock (including soil carbon) suggests that Singapore’s mangroves may store 450,571.7 Mg C. While lower than other regional estimates focused on natural, oceanic mangroves, this is a significant carbon stock for a disturbed, urban mangrove system, and may be equivalent to the average annual carbon emissions of 621,000 residents. This analysis, alongside a review of other urban forest studies, highlights the importance of forested ecosystems such as mangroves in providing a carbon storage ecosystem service to urban areas.     

Engaging urban nature: improving our understanding of public perceptions of the role of biodiversity in cities

In recognition of the value of biodiversity for cities and citizens, a number of international programs have been designed to help municipal governments sustain, protect, and augment the biodiversity and ecosystem services within their jurisdictions. A key component of these programs is public engagement, where citizens assume a more active role in maintaining urban biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. Yet, there are few studies which have as their focus public knowledge of the importance of nature, biodiversity, and ecosystem services in cities. To these ends, this study was conducted to develop a better understanding of how the public understands and interacts with urban biodiversity, particularly in comparison to subject matter experts. Using topics generated from expert interviews and the literature, an interview guide was developed for the general public, structured around the general themes of a definition of urban biodiversity, as well as the perceived benefits, costs, and threats related to urban biodiversity. While there were similarities in the responses of citizens and experts, some differences did emerge in terms of accounting for specific urban ecosystems, acceptable interventions to support and enhance biodiversity, and the character and extent of the cultural services derived from urban nature. Insights from this work can be used to inform education and information efforts for the public, as well as raise awareness among city planners and nature professionals of the array of urban ecosystem services recognized and made use of by the public.

     

Mental Health Recovery

Abstract

Strengths-based approaches that emphasize culturally competent services and naturally occurring community support may be more appropriate than traditional mental health services for African American adults with psychiatric disabilities. An examination of the literature on service utilization and treatment needs for this population highlights the paucity of empirical studies in these areas, while an exploration of the literature related to psychiatric recovery, a prominent strengths-based framework, reveals insufficient application of the approach to the specific interests of African American service recipients. We suggest that recovery is in fact highly compatible with such culturally relevant approaches as the Afrocentric model, and argue that the concept of recovery may therefore provide a resonant and particularly useful framework for practice with this population. Implications for research, practice and policy are discussed.