Denser and greener cities, Robert McDonald / URBDEMO
Event details
| Date | 09.03.2023 |
| Hour | 12:15 › 13:30 |
| Speaker | Robert McDonald, The Nature Conservancy |
| Location | Online |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
| Event Language | English |
Lecture series in Urban Demography organized by the URBDEMO LAB EPFL-ENAC-IA
The Urban Demography lab at EPFL has the pleasure to invite you to a series of six open conferences on population dynamics and urban change in Switzerland and globally.
Lecture 1: “Denser and greener cities: Green interventions to achieve both urban density and nature”
Presenter: Robert McDonald, The Nature Conservancy
Abstract: Green spaces in urban areas—like remnant habitat, parks, constructed wetlands, and street trees—supply multiple benefits. Many studies show green spaces in and near urban areas play important roles harbouring biodiversity and promoting human well-being. On the other hand, evidence suggests that greater human population density enables compact, low-carbon cities that spare habitat conversion at the fringes of expanding urban areas, while also allowing more walkable and livable cities. How then can urban areas have abundant green spaces as well as density? In this talk, I present new quantitative data on the trade-offs between density and urban green spaces, for a global sample of cities. However, this trade-off is weak statistically, and there are significant brightspots, neighbourhoods that manage to have more tree canopy than would be expected based upon their level of density. I will end by describing techniques for how urban planners and designers can create more brightspots, identifying a typology of urban forms and listing green interventions appropriate for each form.
Short biography: Dr. Robert McDonald is Lead Scientist for Nature-Based Solutions at The Nature Conservancy. He researches the impact and dependencies of communities on the natural world, studying how nature can increase resilience in the face of climate change and improve human health and well-being. He holds a PhD in Ecology from Duke University and has published more than 100 scientific publications and two books. Prior to joining the Conservancy, he was a Smith Conservation Biology Fellow at Harvard University, studying the impact global urban growth will have on biodiversity and conservation. He also taught landscape ecology at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, helping architects and planners incorporate ecological principles into their projects.
The Urban Demography lab at EPFL has the pleasure to invite you to a series of six open conferences on population dynamics and urban change in Switzerland and globally.
Lecture 1: “Denser and greener cities: Green interventions to achieve both urban density and nature”
Presenter: Robert McDonald, The Nature Conservancy
Abstract: Green spaces in urban areas—like remnant habitat, parks, constructed wetlands, and street trees—supply multiple benefits. Many studies show green spaces in and near urban areas play important roles harbouring biodiversity and promoting human well-being. On the other hand, evidence suggests that greater human population density enables compact, low-carbon cities that spare habitat conversion at the fringes of expanding urban areas, while also allowing more walkable and livable cities. How then can urban areas have abundant green spaces as well as density? In this talk, I present new quantitative data on the trade-offs between density and urban green spaces, for a global sample of cities. However, this trade-off is weak statistically, and there are significant brightspots, neighbourhoods that manage to have more tree canopy than would be expected based upon their level of density. I will end by describing techniques for how urban planners and designers can create more brightspots, identifying a typology of urban forms and listing green interventions appropriate for each form.
Short biography: Dr. Robert McDonald is Lead Scientist for Nature-Based Solutions at The Nature Conservancy. He researches the impact and dependencies of communities on the natural world, studying how nature can increase resilience in the face of climate change and improve human health and well-being. He holds a PhD in Ecology from Duke University and has published more than 100 scientific publications and two books. Prior to joining the Conservancy, he was a Smith Conservation Biology Fellow at Harvard University, studying the impact global urban growth will have on biodiversity and conservation. He also taught landscape ecology at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, helping architects and planners incorporate ecological principles into their projects.
Practical information
- General public
- Free