Marina Alberti. Urbanism in an Eco-Evolutionary Perspective

Urbanism in an Eco-Evolutionary Perspective Marina Alberti Second Symposium on Social-Ecological Urbanism Chalmers University of Technology Gothenburg, Sweden - June 18, 2019

Imagine the Future

control

adapt

collapse

transform

Cities are the most visible signature of the Anthropocene

Population: 7.5 billion Urban: >55% - Gross World Product:~85 trillion Urban: ~80% Energy Consumption 13,541 Mtoe Urban: ~70% CO2 emissions 35 Gton Urban: ~70% 5

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Cities where humans are key players in nature’s game

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Cities where humans bio-cooperate, not simply mimic natural processes

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Cities that operate on planetary spatial and time scales

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Cities that rely on “wise” citizens not simply smart technologies

Cities that think like planets

Cities drive micro-evolutionary change

These species provide important ecosystem functions

Urban Evolutionary Change

(changes in allele frequencies within a single population)

mutation genetic drift gene flow natural selection

Urban Mechanisms Affecting Evolution

habitat modification

novel disturbances

habitat connectivity

habitat heterogeneity

biotic interactions

social interactions

Urban Selective Pressures Air pollution favor adaptation of organisms to high-stress and might increase the rate of genetic mutations.

Pollution

Warmer temperature may drive the evolution of populations with higher heat tolerance

Temperature Buildings and road infrastructure can fragment species’ habitats reducing gene flow and genetic diversity.

Built structures

Artificial light and noise Artificial disrupts circadianlight rhythms of organisms and might drive and noise evolutionary changes in life history traits.

Transportation may disperse organisms facilitating gene flow between different populations.

Transportation

Landscaping and introduction of non-native species affect biotic interactions and might and cause evolutionary changes in response to invaders.

Landscaping

Parks and corridors

Parks and green spaces provide habitats for species and corridors between urban subpopulations facilitating gene flow.

Water and food resources

Altered water availability and growing--season length drive change in organism lifehistory traits

Global Distribution of Observations

Evidence of Emerging Mechanisms of Eco-Evolutionary Feedbacks

Urban Mechanisms • • • • •

Habitat Modification Biotic Interactions Heterogeneity Novel Disturbances Social Dynamics

Heritable Traits • • • • •

Physiological Morphological Behavioral Phenological Life history

Eco-Evolutionary Feedback • • • • •

Biodiversity Primary Productivity Nutrient Cycling Biotic Control Seed Dispersal

URBAN MECHANISMS

HERITABLE TRAITS

ECO-EVOLUTIONARY FEEDBACK

Habitat Modification

Physiological

Primary Productivity

Nutrient Cycling

Heterogeneity

Morphological

Biotic Interactions

Behavioral

Seed Dispersal

Novel Disturbances

Phenological

Biotic control

Social Dynamics

Life history

Biodiversity

Daphnia Adaptation to Cynobacteria

Daphnia Eco-Evolutionary Feedback

Why Evolution Matters in Designing and Planning Resilient Cities

Green Infrastructure

Ecosystem Functions • Carbon Sequestration • Air Purification • Climate Regulation

Bioswale

Rain Gardens

• Storm Water Mitigation • Water Purification • Soil Protection

Street Trees

Green Roofs

• Habitat Provision • Biodiversity Protection • Flood Regulation • Coastal Protection

Retention Ponds

Porous Pavements

• Health Provision • Open Space/Recreation • Public Education

Wetlands

Living Shoreline

Evolutionary change drives ecosystem function 1. Evolutionary change is a critical part of ecological dynamics.

Knowing when and how populations can evolve is crucial to to protect ecosystem function.

2. Rapid evolution might have significant effects on ecosystem functions influencing human well-being on a short time-scale.

3. Evolution allows for an understanding and predicting the potential responses to human disturbance.

4. Green infrastructure strategies that disregard their evolutionary implications might have unforeseen impacts or fail to achieve their intended effect.

Unforeseen impacts of green infrastructure: Some example questions 1. What are the evolutionary implications of growing trees or plants on a 800 feet tall building for tree, plants, and pollinators?

2. How will zooplankton adapting to concentration of pollutants in urban retention ponds affect water eutrophication?

3. How will amphibians adapt to endocrine disruptors in urban wastewater? And how will affect pest control?

4. How will evolutionary change in exotic species change species interactions and impacts on native species?

5. And what are the consequences of these evolutionary changes for ecosystem function and human health?

Complexity of socio-ecological functions

natural' habitat'

nutrient'cycling' water'quality'

nutrient'cycling' water'quality'

wastewater'treatment'

Myths of Planning • There is an optimal resilient pattern of urbanization.

• Resilience is constant across regions and scales.

• Thresholds are stable, predictable, and detectable.

• Resilience can be achieved by adapting current institutional frameworks.

Resilient Urban Patterns: A Hypothesis • No pattern is consistently more resilient than another.

• Resilience depends on variable environmental and human conditions across regions and scales.

• Strategies to optimize one function at one scale may increase system vulnerability and lead to collapse.

• Pattern diversity may control urban adaptive capacity.

Urban Ecosystem Dynamic

Resilient Urban Patterns: Thresholds

C

B

A

Resilient Urban Patterns: Tradeoffs A

B

C

Complex Interactions

Do

transportation mode

trip length

emissions

behavior

Urban Patterns Have different impacts on‌

Primary productivity? land use

chemical inputs

activities

% impervious surface

Hydrological function?

Nutrient cycling?

canopy cover

age of stand

species diversity

fragmentation

Biodiversity?

Disturbance regimes?

consumption patterns

convenience

culture

vehicle travel

Compact vs. Dispersed

High Density

Low Density

Complex Urban Gradients

respiration + photosynthesis

resource variation

CO2 fertilization

temperature

leaf litter + woody debris

CO2 emission

organic input

forest conversion

forest connectivity

land cover change

Habitat Modification

predation

Ex - urban

facilitation

Su burban

birds + mammals

parasitism

Ur ban

fragmentation + exotics

novel competition

colonization

extinction

Species Interactions

R u ral

F o res t

availability variability

high

Heterogeneity low

Connectivity

high

low

green space

biodiversity

CO2 emissions

water quality

Pattern Resilience and Diversity

Shifting Paradigms in Planning: Adaptive Planning

Shifting Paradigms in Planning: Towards Transformation

Critical transitions and innovation

Modularity/Heterogeneity

Connectivity/Homogeneity

Sheffer et al. 2012

Properties of resilient and innovative systems heterogeneity

modularity Selforganization

early warning

cross-scale interactions

e

Hypotheses

heterogeneity

Example

Allows system flexibility and the ability to function under a wide range of conditions

(e.g., multi-modal transportation)

Allows autonomous functionality, and the ability to contain disturbances and avoid cascading effects

(e.g., modular electric grid)

ctions

conditions

modularity Allows autonomous functionality, and the ability to contain disturbances and avoid cascading effects

(e.g., modular electric grid)

Allows functional redundancy across scales, added capacity under contingency, and creative solutions for service substitutions

(e.g., energy, and water sources and delivery

ctions

the ability to contain disturbances and avoid cascading effects

cross-scale interaction

Allows functional redundancy across scales, added capacity under contingency, and creative solutions for service substitutions

Anticipating catastrophic events and allowing the system to fail safely also depends on creating early warning systems that allow for essential functions to be performed when part of the system fails

(e.g., energy, and water sources and delivery

scales, added capacity under contingency, and creative solutions for service substitutions

delivery

early warning Anticipating catastrophic events and allowing the system to fail safely also depends on creating early warning systems that allow for essential functions to be performed when part of the system fails

Resilient systems are also self-organizing, a quality that enables natural and social systems to change their internal structure and their function in response to external circumstances

(e.g., sand ripples, stock markets)

Anticipating catastrophic events and allowing the system to fail safely also depends on creating early warning systems that allow for essential functions to be performed when part of the system fails

self-organization

Resilient systems are also self-organizing, a quality that enables natural and social systems to change their internal structure and their function in response to external circumstances

(e.g., sand ripples, stock markets)

Resilience Principle

Hypotheses

Example

Heterogeneity

Allows system flexibility and the ability to function under a wide range of conditions

(e.g., multi-modal transportation)

Modularity

Allows autonomous functionality, and the ability to contain disturbances and avoid cascading effects

(e.g., modular electric grid)

Cross-scale Interactions

Allows functional redundancy across scales, added capacity under contingency, and creative solutions for service substitutions

(e.g., energy, and water sources and delivery

Early Warning

Anticipating catastrophic events and allowing the system to fail safely also depends on creating early warning systems that allow for essential functions to be performed when part of the system fails

Self-Organization

Resilient systems are also self-organizing, a quality that enables natural and social systems to change their internal structure and their function in response to external circumstances

(e.g., sand ripples, stock markets)

The City as a Planetary Experiment

A conceptual framework of urban eco-evolutionary feedbacks Evolution

telecoupling

gene culture

Human

Mechanisms

Drivers biophysical demographic socioeconomic policy

habitat modification

Built

(structure & processes)

biotic interactions heterogeneity novel disturbance social interactions

selection plasticity

urban phenotype

Natural

global drivers

Urban Ecosystem

Ecosystem Function

Shifting ecological planning strategies towards evolutionary potential 1. Mapping evolutionary history and species evolutionary relationships is critical to prioritize species and ecosystems.

2. Understanding the cause of diversification is critical to predict diversity responses to urbanization and environmental change.

3. Linking urban-driven evolution of traits to ecosystem functions can provide insights for maintaining ecosystem function.

4. Considering the dynamic nature of the evolutionary processes that generate and maintain diversity will help shift conservation efforts towards evolutionary potential.

A New Multi-Disciplinary Convergence Understanding coupled human-natural systems in a ecoevolutionary perspective requires defining new questions, new conceptual frameworks, hypotheses, theories, models, and methodologies that transcend the urban disciplines.

It requires achieving convergence of urban design and planning with urban ecology, evolutionary biology, ecosystem science, and many other fields by merging the diverse intellectual perspectives, data, and research approaches.

It demands a new collaboration with the practice of city building.

A new Research Collaborative Network