Course Description

Urban areas are major drivers of global environmental change, habitat degradation, changes in biodiversity, and the loss of vegetation biomass. These and many other factors emphasize the necessity to understand and examine how urbanization affects the interactions between humans, greenspaces, wildlife and the built environment. Furthermore, it opens questions around the possibilities for urban habitats and landscapes to support the enhancement of biodiversity, energy conservation, food security, public health and well-being. This module explores the ecology and planning of urban areas and landscapes. We will discuss advanced concepts in urban ecology and will utilize methodological approaches in urban ecology research including collecting and analyzing biodiversity data, structure and functions of greenspaces data, analyzing remotely sensed spatial data, and harnessing citizen science and social media data.

The course is taught togehter with Aaron Sexton, Monika Egerer and Stephan Pauleit. See information here

Topics covered by me

• Urban biodiversity patterns
• Urban ecological processes
• Urban geography and ecology
• Practical in QGIS