Urban Horticulture
Subtitle: Ecology, Landscape, and Agriculture
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 305
ISBN-13: 9781771884235
Subjects: Urban gardening; Horticulture; Landscape architecture
Description: "Urban Horticulture, referring to the study and cultivation of vegetation in built environments, is gaining more attention as the world rapidly urbanizes and cities expand. While plants have been grown in urban areas for millennia, it is now recognized that they not only provide food, ornament, and recreation, but also supply invaluable ecological services that help mitigate potentially negative impacts of urban ecosystems, and thus increase the livability of cities. This compendium, Urban Horticulture: Ecology, Landscape and Agriculture, provides background on key issues in this growing field. The first section introduces ecological landscaping, providing a holistic framework for understanding urban landscapes and horticultural practices, both ornamental and agricultural. The complexity of the field is further illustrated by two different approaches to sustainable ornamental landscape design. The second section examines urban soil and water and their essential roles in regulating and supporting horticultural ecosystem services on which urban populations depend. The third part focuses on pollination, and the importance of urban areas and horticultural practice to this vital service. The fourth section concerns the often overlooked area of domestic gardens and their influence on urban horticulture, and employs community gardens to explore the multi-faceted educational experience they provide, and its adaptability to other socio-ecological contexts. The editor, an experienced multidisciplinary urban planning and policy researcher, has selected studies that will be essential to urban planners, horticulturalists, and residents of cities, as well for all those interested in enhancing urban living through horticulture."--