This paper develops a human ecological perspective on cities and urban regions. It
describes the role of cities in the expanding human ecological niche and its implications for
sustainable urban development. I have used a new technique, ecological footprint analysis,
to convert the material and energy flows required to sustain the human population and
industrial metabolism of “the city” into a landecosystem area equivalent. This approach
emphasizes that, although urbanization has become the dominant human settlement …

As humans have come to dominate the earth, the ideal of studying and teaching ecology in
pristine ecosystems has become impossible to achieve. Our planet is now a mosaic of
ecosystems ranging from the relatively undisturbed to the completely built, with the majority
of people living in urban environments. This accessible introduction to the principles of
urban ecology provides students with the tools they need to understand these increasingly
important urban ecosystems. It builds upon the themes of habitat modification and resource …