Uploaded on 2014-10-09 by alexchat

Visible in the picture are trees, a school, an abandoned mechanic (vacant lot), a road + sidewalk. This is an area called the "Northern Edge", walking distance from downtown Edmonton, Canada. My interest is urban biodiversity. Trees provide ecosystem services for humans and habitat for other animals. Vacant lots can also harbour biodiversity, and - in some cases - are becoming actively transformed into [community park spaces][3]. [Open data][2] from municipal government shows there are just over 300,000 trees and over 1000 vacant lots within Edmonton city limits. When combined with other data, this information could become knowledge that contributes to planning. [Attempts][4] are being made to quantify the value of nature to cities. Environmental factors can then be considered alongside social and economic factors when decisions need to be made regarding land use. Questions: In an area where there is no community space, would it be worthwhile to transform a vacant lot? Is there open land near an industrial site where certain species of plant or a constructed wetland may be able to absorb pollutants? And so on... [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1412867391199125.jpg [2]: http://data.edmonton.ca [3]: http://www.dw.de/pop-up-parks-fight-to-bring-green-space-to-brussels/a-17975313 [4]: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26208-urban-wastelands-worth-millions-for-what-they-give-us.html#.VDarYildVYQ