Conservation biology and urban sustainability: Policy and practice

Within the next decade a majority of the human population will be urban residents. Although there is a growing literature concerning urban sustainability theories, these discussions commonly fail to address the values and needs of biodiversity. This dissertation summarizes the urban sustainability literature, highlighting its deficient emphasis on biodiversity, and then argues for the importance of urban biodiversity. Drawing on analyses concerning ecosystem goods and services, biophilia, sense of place understandings, and the moral considerability of nonhuman others, I claim urban biodiversity is important not only in the provision of tangible goods and services, but also in the achievement of our psychological and psychosocial well-being. Without repeated and spontaneous interactions with other biodiversity, our humanity is challenged.; A strategy useful in creating sustainable urban environment is Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). SEA combines environmental assessment operations with the processes involved in the formation and implementation of policies, plans and programs. Although multiple types of SEA projects exist, most current examples concern land-use plans. Present examples of land-use SEAs all demonstrate two significant deficiencies. First, land-use SEAs are susceptible to overlooking significant local-scale impacts. The second deficiency of land-use SEAs is their generally insufficient emphasis on ecological considerations. Specifically, SEAs often fail to acknowledge the importance of ecological baselines and the value of an area's restoration potential. This dissertation suggests three perspectives to be incorporated into land-use SEA practices--nested sustainability, ecological sustainability and restoration potential.; The final section of the dissertation analyzes a case study from Minnesota that involves a metropolitan trout stream and an uncommon type of environmental review--the Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR). The case study is used to demonstrate how SEA can be improved, detailing how nested sustainability, ecological sustainability, and restoration potential can be implemented. The case study is also used to review the AUAR process as a new environmental review policy. Using a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, the AUAR is critiqued for its inclusion of social and environmental information and is found lacking. Six recommendations are offered for improving the AUAR, these recommendations are congruent with SEA and urban sustainability agendas.