Expanding the Landscape
Expanding the Landscape
Applying Patch Dynamics to Social-Ecological Systems
This chapter lays out the concept and framework for a “patch dynamics” approach and briefly reviews its contributions to describing and quantifying patterns and changes in spatial heterogeneity of bioecological systems. Patch dynamics emerged in ecology as an approach to understanding spatial heterogeneity. Though ecology is its original disciplinary home, patch dynamics resonates with contemporary urban social theory. Consequently, a patch dynamics approach can serve as a critical node of synthesis between contemporary social and ecological approaches for an ecology of cities. Thus, the chapter applies patch dynamics to urban systems and demonstrates how it addresses the drivers of urban systems identified in earlier chapters.
Keywords: patch dynamics, spatial heterogeneity, bioecological systems, ecology, urban social theory, urban systems
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