City Ecosystems

An ecosystem is traditionally defined as a community of organisms functioning as an ecological unit in nature. Ecologists often study sites as far away from human influence as possible to get closer to nature. Likewise, when urban educators teach ecology, they often take their students outside the cities to study nature's ecosystems. However, leaving the city limits may no longer be necessary as both ecologists and urban educators begin to look at cities as a part of nature, nurturing their own ecosystems. The goal of this new approach to ecological study is an interdisciplinary understanding of the relationships between cities and natural ecosystems. Alan Berkowitz, head of the Education Program at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies (IES) a nonprofit research and education institution in Millbrook, New York, whose focus is the study and dissemination of knowledge about ecosystems-says that researchers take the same basic approach to the study of both natural and urban ecosystems. The difference lies in the studies' objectives and foci. With urban ecosystems, the questions are more people-centered. Berkowitz also says that in a city it's hard to see the natural aspects of the ecosystem, and in a forest it's difficult to see the social aspects within the ecosystem. The approach chosen depends on the questions being asked, Berkowitz explains. Berkowitz also explains that the study of city ecosystems is very similar to studying a stream in a natural environment in the sense that it's also a high throughput system. Says Berkowitz, "It would be hard to understand a stream by only studying what's in it. By also studying what's going in and out of it, you can obtain a more complete understanding of how it functions." The same is true of urban environments. An IES press release says that "interdisciplinary systems thinking by scientists and citizens alike may be necessary in the coming century for life to be sustainable on this planet."