Reflections on Greening the City and Urban Ecology

Tucson, AZ

I found the concept of Greening the City to be more closely associated to what I originally thought the practice of sustainability was prior to taking this class. Thanks to the readings and discussion we have undertaken I know understand the different forms of capital and community action now necessary to commit to a sustainable community, while bioregional practice overlays more strongly with the scientific aspect of sustainability. Coming from a background strong in ecology and environmental science I was waiting to see where my expertise would fit in to community sustainability, and with bioregional practices I see that opportunity, to use my knowledge of natural systems to help develop techniques that are applicable to specific sites/ecosystems to renew the natural systems and process, which make the system thrive.

One of the benefits of increasing green space is a reduction in the urban heat island effect. This is something that I have been able to experience first hand. Growing up, I lived in a more rural part of Tucson, Arizona, which at the time had not experienced much development, so it experienced the typical desert summer night. After a day of scorching 100°+ temperatures the sun would set, and the temperature would drop back down to make for an enjoyable relatively cool night. As development in the city saw a dramatic increase, and I moved into the more urban center of the city I noticed an extremely unpleasant change. Now, during the summer evenings, the temperature barely fluctuates, as the concrete, asphalt, and brick radiate out the heat, which it absorbs throughout the day, leaving the evening as abhorrently hot as the day.

An infrared image of Phoenix, Arizona


As Roseland points out there are a plethora of benefits to creating functional green space in urban areas. The difficult part thus becomes achieving an integral level of greening. To be able to implement some of tools and technologies for greening the city there are numerous policy instruments that can be used, and here Roseland shows us that regulation and voluntary instruments seem to be the policy instruments of choice. It is here that you can really see aspects of policy, biological science, and social science, converging to create a sustainable community. The biological sciences explain the ecology of an area, describe the necessity for returning these urban areas to some aspect of an ecological norm, and give us the knowledge and technologies for greening the city. The social sciences describe the ways to bring communities together, create cohesiveness, and determine the manner in which to motivate the citizenry to elicit change. The policy is the last tool, as it takes the concepts from biological sciences and the information from social sciences to give people incentives (legal from regulation or financial) and information to ensure that the change happens. This truly shows the multidisciplinary manner in which sustainability must be addressed.