Social Dimensions of Landscape Sustainability: Lessons from Diverse U.S. Cities
Start Date
4-4-2023 4:00 PM
End Date
4-4-2023 6:00 PM
Abstract
The sustainability of urban landscapes requires (re)designing residential yards away from traditional monocultural, high-input lawns toward climate-adapted, wildlife-friendly alternatives with lower negative, environment impacts. Achieving landscape sustainability in urban neighborhoods involves not only designing and managing yards in ways that increase ecosystem services and decrease disservices; it also warrants enhancing and sustaining residents’ appreciation and maintenance of local landscapes into the future. To advance knowledge about and the transition toward landscape sustainability, a multi-city project in the US has examined how assorted drivers and constraints have enabled and inhibited changes in residential yards and neighborhoods. Based on interdisciplinary social-ecological research across Los Angeles, Phoenix, Miami, Baltimore, Boston, and Minneapolis–St. Paul, this research highlights opportunities and challenges for urban landscape sustainability through recent and potential changes in US residential land systems. Overall, evidence suggests that residential yards are shifting away from high-input, monocultural lawns toward diverse alternatives that use less water and provide wildlife habitat, among other environmental benefits. Critical lessons learned from this research will be featured in this poster presentation, including: 1) the paramount importance of aesthetic appreciation and low maintenance yards for residents’ yard choices and management; 2) the tenuous relationships between environmental values/attitudes and landscaping decisions; and 3) the complex drivers and constraints involved with recent changes in residential land systems toward sustainability across varied US regions. This research underscores important recommendations for influencing residents’ decisions for urban landscape sustainability.
Subjects
Conservation biology, Environmental social sciences, Land/watershed management
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/40471
Social Dimensions of Landscape Sustainability: Lessons from Diverse U.S. Cities
The sustainability of urban landscapes requires (re)designing residential yards away from traditional monocultural, high-input lawns toward climate-adapted, wildlife-friendly alternatives with lower negative, environment impacts. Achieving landscape sustainability in urban neighborhoods involves not only designing and managing yards in ways that increase ecosystem services and decrease disservices; it also warrants enhancing and sustaining residents’ appreciation and maintenance of local landscapes into the future. To advance knowledge about and the transition toward landscape sustainability, a multi-city project in the US has examined how assorted drivers and constraints have enabled and inhibited changes in residential yards and neighborhoods. Based on interdisciplinary social-ecological research across Los Angeles, Phoenix, Miami, Baltimore, Boston, and Minneapolis–St. Paul, this research highlights opportunities and challenges for urban landscape sustainability through recent and potential changes in US residential land systems. Overall, evidence suggests that residential yards are shifting away from high-input, monocultural lawns toward diverse alternatives that use less water and provide wildlife habitat, among other environmental benefits. Critical lessons learned from this research will be featured in this poster presentation, including: 1) the paramount importance of aesthetic appreciation and low maintenance yards for residents’ yard choices and management; 2) the tenuous relationships between environmental values/attitudes and landscaping decisions; and 3) the complex drivers and constraints involved with recent changes in residential land systems toward sustainability across varied US regions. This research underscores important recommendations for influencing residents’ decisions for urban landscape sustainability.
