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Social-ecological and technological factors moderate the value of urban nature

Nature Sustainability volume 2, pages 29–38 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

Urban nature has the potential to improve air and water quality, mitigate flooding, enhance physical and mental health, and promote social and cultural well-being. However, the value of urban ecosystem services remains highly uncertain, especially across the diverse social, ecological and technological contexts represented in cities around the world. We review and synthesize research on the contextual factors that moderate the value and equitable distribution of ten of the most commonly cited urban ecosystem services. Our work helps to identify strategies to more efficiently, effectively and equitably implement nature-based solutions.

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Fig. 1: A framework for analysing the value of urban nature-based solutions.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by a grant from the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment to B.L.K. and a University of Minnesota Grand Challenges Research award to B.L.K. and M.H.H. Additional support was provided by the Natural Capital Project at Stanford University. T.M.’s participation was supported by the Urban Resilience to Extreme Weather-Related Events Sustainability Research Network (URExSRN; NSF grant no. SES 1444755). Assistance with literature review, formatting and references was provided by V. Dang, M. Rattu and A. Rutledge. S. Polasky and P. Kareiva provided valuable feedback on framing and early drafts of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Bonnie L. Keeler, Maike H. Hamann & Kelly A. Meza Prado

  2. Natural Capital Project, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Perrine Hamel, Katie K. Arkema, Anne D. Guerry & Spencer A. Wood

  3. Urban Systems Lab, The New School, New York, NY, USA

    Timon McPhearson

  4. Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, USA

    Timon McPhearson

  5. Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Timon McPhearson

  6. Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA

    Maike H. Hamann, Marie L. Donahue, Kelly A. Meza Prado, Kate A. Brauman & Justin A. Johnson

  7. School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Katie K. Arkema, Gregory N. Bratman, Anne D. Guerry, Nick Neverisky & Spencer A. Wood

  8. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA

    Jacques C. Finlay & Sarah E. Hobbie

  9. Department of Geography, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Graham K. MacDonald

  10. Global Cities Program, The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA, USA

    Robert I. McDonald

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  1. Bonnie L. Keeler
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Keeler, B.L., Hamel, P., McPhearson, T. et al. Social-ecological and technological factors moderate the value of urban nature. Nat Sustain 2, 29–38 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-018-0202-1

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