Urban landscape systems: Frameworks for the integration and analysis of socio-cultural and ecological systems

In order to create ecologically resilient and socially coherent cities, these systems need to be mutually reinforcing. However, in the course of developing the modern city, nature and its inherent value has been largely forgotten. The separation of cities and ecology has been perpetuated through a lack of integration between their associated disciplines. A conceptual framework has been proposed for integrating socio-cultural and ecological understanding in urban landscape systems that draws from the literature of urbanism and ecological disciplines. Diversity, connectivity, and adjacency have been identified as common controls of urban landscape system function. A procedural framework to analyse these factors, employing a patch typology approach, was then presented and demonstrated. Potential quantitative methods were discussed that could further integration of analytical methods. The proposed frameworks provide guidance for planners, designers, and managers to understand urban landscape systems in order to assess deficiencies and propose future interventions.