Ecological contributions to human health in cities

Context

Ecological research, from organismal to global scales and spanning terrestrial, hydrologic, and atmospheric domains, can contribute more to reducing health vulnerabilities. At the same, ecological research directed to health vulnerabilities provides a problem-based unifying framework for urban ecologists.

Objective

Provide a framework for expanding ecological research to address human health vulnerabilities in cities.

Methods

I pose an urban ecology of human health framework that considers how the ecological contributions to health risks and benefits are driven by interacting influences of the environment, active management, and historical legacies in the context of ecological self-organization. The ecology of health framework is explored for contrasting examples including heat, vector borne diseases, pollution, and accessible greenspace both individually and in a multifunctional landscape perspective.

Results

Urban ecological processes affect human health vulnerability through contributions to multiple hazard and well-being pathways. The resulting multifunctional landscape of health vulnerability features prominent hotspots and regional injustices. A path forward to increase knowledge of the ecological contributions to health vulnerabilities includes increased participation in in interdisciplinary teams and applications of high resolution environmental sensing and modeling.

Conclusions

Research and management from a systems and landscape perspective of ecological processes is poised to help reduce urban health vulnerability and provide a better understanding of ecological dynamics in the Anthropocene.