Cracks in the Concrete Jungle: New Perspectives on Urban Ecology

Worldwide, contemporary urban societies are faced with drastic consequences of climate change, demographic shifts and associated economic disparity. What do such challenges mean for the natural environments of cities and for billions of urban inhabitants?

Multidisciplinary solutions are necessary to develop new perspectives and creative strategies for sustainable urban development. For the past eight years, the DFG Graduate Research Training Group 780 “Perspectives on Urban Ecology” has been investigating the interface between cities, nature and people, and is pleased to invite representatives from different disciplines to its final international congress on urban ecology. The Congress Cracks in the Concrete Jungle: New Perspectives on Urban Ecology on October 22nd and 23rd, 2010 focuses on the development of urban nature in the context of such contemporary challenges, especially with regard to the quality of human life.

We look forward to receiving abstracts for oral presentations and poster contributions on the following session topics:

Sustainable Planning and Policy
Urban Biodiversity
Environmental Media
Perception and Behavior
Methods, Theories and Practice
Description of Session Topics:
Sustainable Planning and Policy
What alternative and creative planning tools and management approaches exist in the fields of law, governance, architecture and urban planning? Desired contributions should consider the handling and response of planning and policy to specific urban, social or ecological phenomena.
Urban Biodiversity
Worldwide, populations boom and blossom into mega-cities. In Germany, despite a steady decrease in national population, more than 100 hectares are newly sealed for transport, housing and infrastructure each day. Because of the huge variety of environmental conditions, cities are particularly species-rich habitats. But urban nature also has to face serious problems like habitat fragmentation, pollution, and competition with non-native species. This session examines the peculiarities of urban habitats and the response of animals and plants to anthropogenic processes and changing environmental conditions.
Environmental Media
This session is aimed at particular research theories and methods dealing with local climate issues, air quality, water regime, soil properties and bodies of water in urban settings. Contributions could include interdisciplinary ecosystem research, investigations into ecological processes in cities, and climate change in the context of environmental media.
Perception and Behavior
The interaction between humans and nature in urban environments is topic of this session. This includes, for example, the effects of environmental conditions on urban lifestyle, human well-being and behavior. Further discussion topics could include anthropogenic solutions to environmental problems, such as adaptation to climate change, environmental education, or

creative uses of temporary green space.

Methods, Theories and Practice
In this session, we welcome various theoretical and methodological approaches to humanenvironment relationships. Contributions from the fields of remote sensing, geomatics and ecological modeling with urban ecological relevance are especially welcome.
Deadline for abstracts: 31 May 2010
Review and decision: 1 July 2010
Submitted abstracts should include results from completed or ongoing research projects that address one or more of the featured topics. Abstracts are limited to 250 words, must be submitted and presented in English and should be geared towards a multidisciplinary audience. Accepted authors will be invited to present a 15 minute oral presentation with a 5 minute discussion, or to include their research in a poster session. Upon notification, presenters are kindly asked to register for the conference in a timely manner in order to

secure a time slot for their presentation and/or a place for their poster.

Registration and Contact
For submission of abstracts and conference registration, please visit our homepage: www.stadtoekologie-berlin.de
DFG Graduate Research Training Group
Department of Geography
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Unter den Linden 6
10099 Berlin