The Effects of Human Socioeconomic Status and Cultural Characteristics on Urban Patterns of Biodiversity

Ann P Kinzig, Arizona State University
Paige Warren
Chris Martin
Diane Hope
Madhusudan Katti

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-01264-100123

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Abstract

We present evidence that there can be substantial variation in species richness in residential areas differing in their socioeconomic and cultural characteristics. Many analyses of the impacts of urbanization on biodiversity rely on traditional “urban-to-rural” gradient measures, such as distance from urban center or population density, and thus can fail to account for the ways in which human socioeconomic and cultural characteristics are shaping the human–environment interaction and ecological outcomes. This influence of residential values and economic resources on biodiversity within the urban matrix has implications for human quality of life, for urban conservation strategies, and for urban planning.

Key words

avian biodiversity; human-environment interaction; plant biodiversity; urban biodiversity; urban ecology

Copyright © 2005 by the author(s). Published here under license by The Resilience Alliance. This article is under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. You may share and adapt the work for noncommercial purposes provided the original author and source are credited, you indicate whether any changes were made, and you include a link to the license.