Social Sustainability
Urban Biodiversity
Definition
Urban biodiversity is the variety of living organisms and habitats found in towns and cities: parks, gardens, riversides, brownfields, green roofs, street trees and the species they host. Cities can harbour surprising richness — some host more native species than surrounding intensive farmland — and urbanisation is now understood as both a driver of biodiversity loss globally and, through habitat creation and connectivity, a genuine conservation frontier.
References
This reference provides supporting context for how “Urban Biodiversity” is defined and used.
Source imported for editorial provenance.
Overview
How it is used
The concept structures urban greening strategies, local biodiversity action plans, CitiesWithNature reporting and health-linked green space policy.
Why it matters
For the urban majority, biodiversity is what lives in the park; protecting it is conservation and public health in the same act.