Urban Ecosystem Defined Urban ecosystems consider the seen and unseen connections between nature and humans in a built environment – a city. The urban ecosystem represents the interactions of all of the separate functions (such as land use, transportation, and economy) among and between people and nature.
to Milwaukee’s urban ecosystem. Unfortunately, many green spaces are poorly maintained, and some are not protected or properly zoned as natural areas for solely park, public, or ecological use. Increasingly, protection, preservation, and restoration of these natural resources are important to sustaining Milwaukee and creating true synthesis between our land use and management policies and our urban ecosystems. Milwaukee has demonstrated such synthesis through projects like the Menomonee Valley Redevelopment, private development north of downtown along the Milwaukee River and down into the Historic Third Ward. Nationally-recognized, progressive Urban Forestry initiatives, which use environmental sustainability to catalyze economic development, also demonstrate the link between policies and urban ecosystem benefits. As we restore our neighborhoods, revitalize our ecological assets, and refresh our public open and green spaces, we can build on an existing planning framework. The aforementioned comprehensive plan and subsequent policy plan, approved by the Common Council in 2010, provide broad, smart growth policies that focus on 13 large areas of Milwaukee. This strategic document sets land use recommendations and catalytic projects for every neighborhood, developed in association with local stakeholders and area residents. The Sustainability Plan will complement many of the policies contained in the comprehensive plan by creating goals, targets, and strategies that amplify this existing document.
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