The Growth of Urban Species...People

More than half of the world's people now live in cities, and in the UK around 90% of of the population are urbanites. People are quickly becoming an urban species.

Urban green spaces become more critical than ever -- both for quality of human life and for the wildlife and habitat that are part of the rich tapestry of nature's support system.

Urban Sprawl

Urban sprawl has created vast expanses of moderately dense "humanized" habitat with a high ratio of concrete and a low diversity of plants. The result of suburbanitis has been a dependence on cars to replace personal locomotion.

High Density City Planning

Proponents of the compact city have captured the attention of community leaders because a vertical city offers practical solutions for tough issues such as pollution inherent to a rapidly growing population that expects the energy-driven amenities to which we have become accustomed.

Benefits of Urban Open Spaces

Loss of green space. Green space is usually the first casualty of high density urban development. Backyard gardens are vital fresh food sources for many low-income and elderly residents...and they provide respite and natural resources education for everyone involved.

Carbon Balance in Urban Landscapes

Clean air and an adequate water table are also affected by the amount of land available to absorb rainfall. Salt water incursion is a growing problem for the highly populated coastal areas. Creeping salt water makes soil impossible to support plant life...and plant life is necessary to replenish and filter our air quality.

Population Control's Role in Urban Planning

Leaders are remiss in focusing on building higher density cities without also focusing on the need for population control.

This editorial was localized and based on a BBC editorial by Dr Richard Fuller, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Sheffield, in "The Green Room", a series of opinion pieces on the BBC News website.