1. Danny Czamanski
21 March 2016
Urban nature
the final frontier?
1
complexcity.csregistry.org
ABC – The Science of the City

2. complexcity.csregistry.org 2
Is “urban nature” an oxymoron?
Urban
scholars are
concerned
with the CBD
and its
surroundings
Traditional
ecology is
concerned
with
“natural”
ecosystems

3. 3
The spatiotemporal resolution in the
classical urban story –
cities are non-porous built-up spaces
Traditional ecologists and urbanists agree -
there is no room for nature in cities…

4. 1. Ecosystem services affect human well-being.
2. Ecosystems services change under various urban scenarios.
3. The interactions between humans and ecosystems are time and
space dependent.
Humans and nature in cities
interact through ecosystem
service

5. • Toger, M., I. Benenson, D. Czamanski
and D. Malkinson. The connectivity of
the Haifa urban open space network in
Environment and Planning B, 47, 2015,
pp 1–23
• Czamanski, D., D. Malkinson, D. and M.
Toger. Nature in future cities – prospects
and a planning agenda in Built
Environment, 40:4, 2014, pp. 508-520

6. 6
There is nature us cities
1242
235
82
6
3217
33
721
99 137
50
978
90 149
10 28 33 2
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500

7. Mammal species in Haifa area
BioGIS Our cameras
Apodemus flavicollis Yellow-necked mouse ‫צוואר‬ ‫צהוב‬ ‫יערון‬ 1
Canis aureus Golden jackal ‫זהוב‬ ‫תן‬ 1 1
Canis lupus Gray wolf ‫מצוי‬ ‫זאב‬ 1
Felis silvestris Wild cat ‫בר‬ ‫חתול‬ 1
Gazella gazella Mountain gazelle ‫מצוי‬ ‫צבי‬ 1
Herpestes ichneumon Egyptian mongoose ‫מצויה‬ ‫נמייה‬ 1 1
Hyaena hyaena Striped hyena ‫מפוספס‬ ‫צבוע‬ 1 1
Hystrix indica Indian crested porcupine ‫מצוי‬ ‫דרבן‬ 1 1
Lepus capensis Cape hare ‫מצויה‬ ‫ארנבת‬ 1
Martes foina Beech marten ‫הסלעים‬ ‫דלק‬ 1 1
Procavia capensis Rock hyrax ‫סלע‬ ‫שפן‬ 1 1
Rattus rattus Black rat ‫מצויה‬ ‫חולדה‬ 1
Suncus etruscus Etruscan shrew ‫זעיר‬ ‫חדף‬ 1
Sus scrofa Wild boar ‫בר‬ ‫חזיר‬ 1 1
Vulpes vulpes Red fox ‫מצוי‬ ‫שועל‬ 1 1
Erinaceus concolor Southern white-breasted hedgehog ‫מצוי‬ ‫קיפוד‬ 1
Meles meles European badger ‫מצויה‬ ‫גירית‬ 1 1
Myocastor coypus Coypu ‫נוטריה‬ 1 1
19 11
http://www.biogis.huji.ac.il/

9. Animal city scape
Source
semi-
natural
Sink
open
spaces
Transit
agriculture,
yards
Hostile
built,
paved,
roads

10. 2010201120122013

12. Boar sightings
are a function of distance between patches
Frequency
Distance
between patches
 Over the years the distribution is
becoming more “fat-tailed” (Lévy
flights) compared to a “null”
negative exponential

13. Perplexing question
Why are wild animals leaving natural open
spaces and entering the “unfriendly” cities?
Where do they meander? Why?

14. Challenges
Three issues for theory of urban nature:
What is the most useful spatial
resolution/scale for understanding
cities/nature interactions?
At what distances do feedbacks among biodiversity, ecosystem
services and the built environment operate?
 What are the characteristic times that govern each of the
relevant systems?

15. What is the most useful spatial
resolution/scale for understanding
cities/nature interactions?
•The environmental policy debate and
land-use regulations are dominated by
analyses of sprawl at a crude spatial
resolution.
•The appropriate spatial resolution is much
finer – buildings and not building-lots.

16. When growing cities consume land,
what is left behind?
• Series of Haifa OS
1945
1962198619992004

17. Series of Haifa OS Network evolution
194519621986199920042010
(data Balter 2010)
323
542
806 877 888 862
1945 1962 1986 19992004 2010
811
2205
3614
39493896 3814
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
patches number
links

18. Patch importance
Betweenness
centrality Component ID Node 1574 deleted Node 1584 deleted
NodeID=1581 BC=0.55
NodeID=1574 BC=0.28
NodeID=1584 BC=0.37
NodeID=0593 BC=0.01
Year 2004
Betweenness centrality is a good proxy for node importance in the network

19. At what distance do feedbacks among biodiversity,
ecosystem services and the built environment
operate?
• Nature generates benefits for people at distances that
do not exceed several hundred meters.
• People affect nature at much greater distances.

20. What are the characteristic times that govern each of the
relevant systems?
Built environment - - - the time from the purchase of
property rights until realization of return on investment.
The main component - - - planning board decisions
concerning land-use variance decisions and building
permits.

21. Analysis of pig movement based on
cost minimization alone….

22. Urban consumption of land - -
what is left behind?
Urban morphology is the key player

23. What is a link?

24. The unbuilt part of the lot
enables passage

25. Indian crested porcupine
(Hystrix indica)

26. complexcity.csregistry.org 26
Land-use and
Land Cover
classification and
cost values per
meter
code Land use Description cost category
30 Veg OS Semi-natural vegetated
0.001 OS
31 Forest Semi-natural and planted forests and woodlands
32 Shrubs Mediterranean scrubland
33 Grassland Herbaceous vegetated areas, burnt land, grasslands
22 Orchard Vineyards and orchards 0.1
transit
13 Garden
Managed vegetated areas: parks, gardens, lawns, sport facilities, monuments, recreation, and
yards.
0.25
41 Wasteland Garbage, dunes, beach, mines wasteland open areas
42 Fallow Abandoned and fallow fields
11 Backyard Backyards, squares, logistic spaces around buildings
0.5
21 Field Agricultural cropland and cultivated open areas
63 Dirt road Unpaved roads
64 Foot path Paved foot paths
65 Trail Unpaved foot paths and trails
15 Transport Railroads, parking lots, transport logistic space, air and sea ports
0.75
61 Roads paved roads
111 Buildings building footprints
∞ Obstacles
12 Industry Industrial areas, cemeteries, prisons, exurban commercial areas
14 Construction Construction sites
23 Built agriculture Greenhouses and warehouses
51 Water Water reservoirs, rivers, lakes and sea
999 NoData No Data

32. Cost minimizing behavior does not explain the
movement of wild boars in Haifa
complexcity.csregistry.org 32

33. Major processes in the model
complexcity.csregistry.org 33
Dusk:
Food sources
appear in the
city… Pigs
wake up in
open spaces
Dawn:
Pigs return to
open spaces
for the day
Dusk to dawn:
Pigs detect
food…
Pigs go to food
and feed

34. Optimal foraging
complexcity.csregistry.org 34
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒
=
𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑑 –𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐 ℎ–𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑖 𝑛 𝑔
𝑡𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐 ℎ + 𝑡𝑓 𝑜𝑜𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑖 𝑛 𝑔
Max net energy intake per unit of time

35. Model space
The space consists of actual Haifa morphology
Urban zone
of urban uses
Open spaces
NetLogo
platform

36. Model basics
complexcity.csregistry.org 36
Pigs are distributed randomly at the outer edges of the
built areas
Food – garbage bins are distributed to reflect the
distribution of households
Pigs enter the built-up area in search of food and obey 2
rules:
 first come first serve;
 No fighting – if site is occupied go to next site.

37. Simulations without memory
complexcity.csregistry.org 37

38. complexcity.csregistry.org 38
Depth of penetration of boars into the city

39. complexcity.csregistry.org 39
Total distance traveled by boars

40. complexcity.csregistry.org 40

41. complexcity.csregistry.org 41
Land-use/land-cover composition of the Haifa
sample (LEFT) versus measured composition of
the average path of pigs (RIGHT)

42. Model improvements
complexcity.csregistry.org 42
Inclusion of memory of sites visited;
Complex behavior due to group interactions;
Policy design issues and means;

43. 43http://complexcity.csregistry.org/
Thank you!