Project Team: Timon McPhearson

From 2012 to 2015, the Urban Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (URBES) project generated a variety of science-based contributions to improving the quality and sustainability of life in cities. It generated data on biodiversity and ecosystem services through case studies in Berlin, Stockholm, Rotterdam, Salzburg, Helsinki, and New York. Funded by BiodivERsA through DIVERSITAS with €1 Million over three years, the URBES team represented 11 leading research institutions in Europe and the United States. The project gave rise to ongoing collaborations between USL and colleagues at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions, and Humboldt University in Berlin.

project theme

Urban Ecology

Project Team: Timon McPhearson, Bianca Lopez, Elizabeth Cook

The MillionTreesNYC Afforestation Study is a multiyear ecological research project focused on succession, soil-plant interactions, and native-invasive species dynamics in 10 parks across New York City. The purpose is to assess the short- and long-term impacts of the MillionTreesNYC tree-planting strategy on the structure and functions of new forest ecosystems.

Led by USL in collaboration with Columbia University and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, the study involves collecting data on soils, plants, and microbes at 38 permanent afforestation plots since 2008. It also includes evaluating forest-management practices for realizing the long-term goals of MillionTreesNYC.

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project theme

Urban Ecology · Nature Based Solutions

Project Team: Timon McPhearson, Emily Maxwell, Michael Treglia, Cecilia de Corral

We are collaborating with The Nature Conservancy and Columbia University to produce the most comprehensive assessment of New York City’s green roofs to date. Projects such as Aucher Serr’s Envisioning a New Urban Jungle explore the future of New York’s green roofs through data analysis and visualization.

Our research on green roofs is closely linked with teaching and outreach. The New School’s Green Roof Ecology course — a collaboration with local partners at Brooklyn Grange — gives students a chance to study actual sites and develop related design projects. As part of the Green Roof Researchers Alliance since its inception, USL cosponsored the organization’s State of Green Roofs in NYC Conference with the Audubon Society.

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Project theme

Urban Ecology · Community Engagement · Urban Policy & Planning · Big Data & Artificial Intelligence

Social-ecological and technological factors moderate the value of urban nature

By Bonnie L. Keeler, Perrine Hamel, Timon McPhearson, Maike H. Hamann, Marie L. Donahue, Kelly A. Meza Prado, Katie K. Arkema, Gregory N. Bratman, Kate A. Brauman, Jacques C. Finlay, Anne D. Guerry, Sarah E. Hobbie, Justin A. Johnson, Graham K. MacDonald, Robert I. McDonald, Nick Neverisky & Spencer A. Wood

Project Team: Timon McPhearson

Urban ecosystems and biodiversity are forms of natural capital with profound influence on human wellbeing. As part of the Natural Capital Project, USL is developing the Urban InVEST valuation model with colleagues from Stanford University, University of Minnesota, the Stockholm Resilience Centre, and the Beijer Institute for Ecological Economics. Urban InVEST integrates spatially explicit biophysical and socio-economic data to allow users to quantify and map the impacts of alternative urban designs on ecosystem services — showing their associated benefits and costs for different communities.

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Project themes

Big Data & Artificial Intelligence · Nature-Based Solutions · Urban Ecology

Project Team: Timon McPhearson, Taylor Drake Chris Hepner Josh Snow

Like most cities, New York struggles with a lack of connectivity between parks and smaller green spaces. The Networked Urban Ecology project is dedicated to linking fragmented habitats that promote biodiversity and provide important services to society. Through a program called Connect the Dots, it merges ecological research with participatory design to build innovative corridors between parkland, street vegetation, green roofs/walls, and other elements throughout the city — with emphasis on places where greenery is lacking. This network has the potential to significantly improve public health, livability, equity, resilience, and sustainability.

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Project theme

Urban Ecology