Understanding Human Ecology

• Humans are interconnected with their environment and do not exist in isolation.
• The relationship between humans and their ecological environment plays a significant role in shaping urban spaces.
• Understanding this relationship is essential for achieving sustainable development.

Human Ecology Definition

• The study of the relationship between humans and their natural, social, and built environments.
• Ernst Haeckel coined the term "oekologie" in 1866 to describe the study of an organism's relationship to its environment.

Five Components of Human Ecology

• Population: The number of people in a given area or region.
• Culture: Beliefs, values, norms, and practices of a society.
• Economy: Production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services within a society.
• Technology: Tools, techniques, and knowledge humans use to interact with their environment.
• Environment: Natural and built surroundings in which people live.
• These components are interconnected and influence each other in complex ways.

Characteristics of Population

• Location
• Density
• Growth Rate
• Population size changes based on births, deaths, and individuals moving in or out.

Humans and the Ecosystem

• Disrupting ecosystems can threaten biodiversity.
• Hunting, agriculture, animal domestication, and urbanization can disrupt ecosystems.

Negative Consequences

• Urbanization is the movement to cities, leading to increased runoff, flooding, erosion, and use of nonrenewable natural resources.
• Deforestation is the destruction of forests, leading to loss of biodiversity and soil erosion.
• Overfarming happens when plants are harvested and soil becomes less fertile, resulting in abandoned fields and topsoil erosion.

Restoring the Environment

• Conserve both renewable and nonrenewable natural resources
• Sustainable use means using natural resources at a rate that does not deplete them.
• Recycling newspaper, glass, metal, and plastic
• Conserving soil is important since the process is very slow
• Cover crops can be planted to cover a field to prevent erosion
• Sustained-yield-free farming means to cut down trees only in certain areas so surrounding areas are untouched
• It is important to replace lost trees by planting new ones
• Forests provide wood and paper
• Soil holds large amounts of water, preventing erosion
• Destruction takes a long time to replace

Controlling Pollution Methods

• Emission controls for cars should be implemented.
• Aerosol sprays should be banned.
• Industrial waste should be controlled.
• Gas should be treated before release
• Sewage treatment plants should use bacteria to treat water before releasing.
• Special sites for toxic waste are needed.

Restoring the Environment - Actions

• Individual actions and societal actions are needed.
• Individuals can avoid polluting, not burn garbage, change products, drive energy-efficient cars, and reduce, reuse, recycle.
• Cities, states, and governments can pass laws against pollution, fine or jail polluters, hold public meetings and hearings about pollution, and give incentives.

Sample Policies and Initiatives

• The Paris Agreement on Climate Change is an international treaty that aims to limit global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

• The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015 to guide efforts towards sustainable development.

• Planners must innovate and collaborate with communities to create sustainable solutions as urban populations grow.