Ecosystem Services in Urban Environments

Abstract This chapter presents a brief synthesis of recent literature on ecosystem services in urban environments. Different types of urban habitats generate different types of ecosystem service, including the supply of food, mitigation of air pollution, human health and well-being, and biodiversity. These services can play an important role in enhancing the resilience of cities to climate change, but only if urban planners and policy makers take into account the connectivity required by key ecological processes in order for their potential to be optimized. The economic valuation of urban ecosystem services is a useful tool for communicating with these stakeholders.