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  • Book
  • Open Access
  • © 2020

Planning for Ecosystem Services in Cities

  • Presents current knowledge about ecosystem services in urban planning, with case study applications and future projects
  • Offers in-depth, but accessible, coverage of outstanding issues and proposed solutions to better integrate ecosystem services in city planning
  • Provides fully worked out case studies, from policy questions, to baseline analysis and indicators, and from option comparison to proposed solutions

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science (BRIEFSENVIRONMENTAL)

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Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
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  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
  2. Introduction

    • Davide Geneletti, Chiara Cortinovis, Linda Zardo, Blal Adem Esmail
    Pages 1-6Open Access
  3. Reviewing Ecosystem Services in Urban Plans

    • Davide Geneletti, Chiara Cortinovis, Linda Zardo, Blal Adem Esmail
    Pages 7-20Open Access
  4. Reviewing Ecosystem Services in Urban Climate Adaptation Plans

    • Davide Geneletti, Chiara Cortinovis, Linda Zardo, Blal Adem Esmail
    Pages 21-30Open Access
  5. Developing Ecosystem Service Models for Urban Planning: A Focus on Micro-Climate Regulation

    • Davide Geneletti, Chiara Cortinovis, Linda Zardo, Blal Adem Esmail
    Pages 31-42Open Access
  6. Applying Ecosystem Services to Support Planning Decisions: A Case Study

    • Davide Geneletti, Chiara Cortinovis, Linda Zardo, Blal Adem Esmail
    Pages 43-56Open Access
  7. Towards Equity in the Distribution of Ecosystem Services in Cities

    • Davide Geneletti, Chiara Cortinovis, Linda Zardo, Blal Adem Esmail
    Pages 57-66Open Access
  8. Conclusions

    • Davide Geneletti, Chiara Cortinovis, Linda Zardo, Blal Adem Esmail
    Pages 67-72Open Access
  9. Back Matter

    Pages 73-87

About this book

This open access book presents current knowledge about ecosystem services (ES) in urban planning, and discusses various urban ES topics such as spatial distribution of urban ecosystems, population distribution, and physical infrastructure properties. The book addresses all these issues by: i) investigating to what extent ecosystem services are currently included in urban plans, and discussing what is still needed to improve planning practice; ii) illustrating how to develop ecosystem services indicators and information that can be used by urban planners to enhance plan design; iii) demonstrating the application of ES assessments to support urban planning processes through case studies; and iv) reflecting on criteria for addressing equity in urban planning through ecosystem service assessments, by exploring issues associated with the supply of, the access to and demand for ES by citizens. 

Through fully worked out case studies, from policy questions, tobaseline analysis and indicators, and from option comparison to proposed solutions, the book offers readers detailed and accessible coverage of outstanding issues and proposed solutions to better integrate ES in city planning. The overall purpose of the book is to provide a compact reference that can be used by researchers as a key resource offering an updated perspective and overview on the field, as well as by practitioners and planners/decision makers as a source of inspiration for their activity. Additionally, the book will be a suitable resource for both undergraduate and post-graduate courses in planning and geography.

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Trento, TRENTO, Italy

    Davide Geneletti, Chiara Cortinovis, Linda Zardo, Blal Adem Esmail

About the authors

Davide Geneletti Associate Professor of Spatial Planning at the University of Trento. Specialised in impact assessment of projects, plans and policies; ecosystem services and urban green infrastructures; multi-criteria analysis. Formerly Research Fellow at Harvard University’s Sustainability Science Program and Visiting Scholar at Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment. He has consulted for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), UN-HABITAT, and the European Commission. Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management and deputy Editor of the open access journal One Ecosystem. Founding member of the start-up company Skopia, specialized in anticipation services for environmental, social and economic planning.

Chiara Cortinovis (PhD), Post-doc fellow at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering of the University of Trento. Formerly visiting scholar at Humboldt University of Berlin, expert for the European Commission and planning consultant for public administrations.

Linda Zardo (PhD), Environmental expert for the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in South-East Africa. Formerly research fellow at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering of the University of Trento.

Blal Adem Esmail (PhD), Post-doc fellow at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering of the University of Trento. Formerly, teaching assistant in water engineering and technical manager and consultant in the fields of building construction and oil & gas research.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access