Balancing Urban Biodiversity Needs and Resident Preferences for Vacant Lot Management
1
Department of Biology, Pittsburg State University, 1701 S. Broadway, Pittsburg, KS 66762, USA
2
School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, 302 Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
3
Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts, 160 Holdsworth Way, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2018, 10(5), 1679; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051679
Received: 19 April 2018 / Revised: 16 May 2018 / Accepted: 16 May 2018 / Published: 22 May 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustaining the Shrinking City: Concepts, Dynamics and Management)
Urban vacant lots are often a contentious feature in cities, seen as overgrown, messy eyesores that plague neighborhoods. We propose a shift in this perception to locations of urban potential, because vacant lots may serve as informal greenspaces that maximize urban biodiversity while satisfying residents’ preferences for their design and use. Our goal was to assess what kind of vacant lots are ecologically valuable by assessing their biotic contents and residents’ preferences within a variety of settings. We surveyed 150 vacant lots throughout Baltimore, Maryland for their plant and bird communities, classified the lot’s setting within the urban matrix, and surveyed residents. Remnant vacant lots had greater vegetative structure and bird species richness as compared to other lot origins, while vacant lot settings had limited effects on their contents. Residents preferred well-maintained lots with more trees and less artificial cover, support of which may increase local biodiversity in vacant lots. Collectively, we propose that vacant lots with a mixture of remnant and planted vegetation can act as sustainable urban greenspaces with the potential for some locations to enhance urban tree cover and bird habitat, while balancing the needs and preferences of city residents.
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Keywords:
cities; greenspace; management; preference; vacant lot
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MDPI and ACS Style
Rega-Brodsky, C.C.; Nilon, C.H.; Warren, P.S. Balancing Urban Biodiversity Needs and Resident Preferences for Vacant Lot Management. Sustainability 2018, 10, 1679. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051679
AMA Style
Rega-Brodsky CC, Nilon CH, Warren PS. Balancing Urban Biodiversity Needs and Resident Preferences for Vacant Lot Management. Sustainability. 2018; 10(5):1679. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051679
Chicago/Turabian StyleRega-Brodsky, Christine C., Charles H. Nilon, and Paige S. Warren 2018. "Balancing Urban Biodiversity Needs and Resident Preferences for Vacant Lot Management" Sustainability 10, no. 5: 1679. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051679
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