Perspectives on the Application of the Concept of “Urban Ecosystem Services” for Landscape and Urban Planning

Abstract:

The concept of “ecosystem services” has been extended to urban areas, and is referred to as “urban ecosystem services”. Among other applications, it is a term used in landscape and urban planning, as well as urban design to embed the concept of human dependence on nature, and hence the need to deliberately conserve, introduce and manage urban greenery in cities. However, like the former term, “urban ecosystem services” has definitional ambiguity and is conflated with other terms like “green infrastructure”, “nature-based solutions”, and “nature’s contributions to people”. The presentation shares perspectives on interpretation of the term, and how guided by a framework, strategies can be identified to guide the urban greening of cities. 

About the Speaker:

Dr. Tan Puay Yok is Professor and cluster leader of the Landscape Studies group in the Department of Architecture at NUS. His academic training was in horticulture science and plant physiology, and his research, teaching, and professional activities focus on the science, policies, and practices of urban greening and ecology of the built environment. He is the CoEditor-in-Chief for Landscape and Urban Planning (Elsevier), Associate Editor for Journal of Urban Ecology (Oxford University Press), Editorial Board Member of npj Urban Sustainability (Nature Partner Journals).

He is concurrently appointed by the National Parks Board, Singapore as the Executive Director of National Parks and Gardens Cluster, and Chief Science and Technology Officer for the National Parks Board (https://www.nparks.gov.sg/), the national agency responsible for greenery, ecology and conservation matters in Singapore