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Beyond Restoration and into Design: Hydrologic Alterations in Aridland Cities

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Resilience in Ecology and Urban Design

Part of the book series: Future City ((FUCI,volume 3))

Abstract

All cities face the challenge of water provisioning, waste elimination, and stormwater runoff. Historically, these needs have been met by engineered solutions, which although effective, frequently generate unintended negative consequences. These include outcomes such as the loss of water quality improvement by riparian zones and wetlands, elimination of habitat for flora and fauna, and reduced opportunities for urban residents to interact with nature. In an attempt to recapture these and other lost ecosystem services, numerous projects are undertaken to restore aquatic ecosystems in urban areas. It is better to conceive of these interventions as new design initiatives, which, when considered within both local and regional contexts, can potentially re-create lost ecosystem services, as well as introduce new environmental, social, and economic benefits. The approach of ecological design of ecosystem services in streams, though stimulated by projects in an arid zone city, can be applied to urban areas in any region.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. AAAS Science Policy Fellow Earth Sciences Division, NASA Headquarters, Mail Suite 3B74, 300 E Street, SW, Washington, DC, 20546-0001, USA

    Elisabeth K. Larson

  2. Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Stevan Earl

  3. School and Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Elizabeth M. Hagen & Rebecca Hale

  4. School of Earth and Space Exploration and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Hilairy Hartnett

  5. Science Department, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, USA

    Michelle McCrackin

  6. Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Melissa McHale

  7. School of Life Sciences and Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Nancy B. Grimm

Authors
  1. Elisabeth K. Larson
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  2. Stevan Earl
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  3. Elizabeth M. Hagen
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  4. Rebecca Hale
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  5. Hilairy Hartnett
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  6. Michelle McCrackin
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  7. Melissa McHale
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  8. Nancy B. Grimm
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elisabeth K. Larson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Sharon Turnpike 2801, Millbrook, 12545-0129, New York, USA

    S.T.A. Pickett

  2. , Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Shields Avenue 1, Davis, 95616, California, USA

    M.L. Cadenasso

  3. , Sch Constructed Environments, Parsons the New School for Design, East 13th Street 25, New York, 10011, New York, USA

    Brian McGrath

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Larson, E.K. et al. (2013). Beyond Restoration and into Design: Hydrologic Alterations in Aridland Cities. In: Pickett, S., Cadenasso, M., McGrath, B. (eds) Resilience in Ecology and Urban Design. Future City, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5341-9_9

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