{"id":12040,"date":"2024-06-19T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-19T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=12040"},"modified":"2024-06-07T08:12:24","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T08:12:24","slug":"cities-contain-pockets-of-nature-our-study-shows-which-species-are-most-tolerant-of-urbanization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/cities-contain-pockets-of-nature-our-study-shows-which-species-are-most-tolerant-of-urbanization\/","title":{"rendered":"Cities contain pockets of nature \u2013 our study shows which species are most tolerant of urbanization"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Black-crowned night herons perch on rocks in the Los Angeles River in Los Angeles.\n Mel Melcon \/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/a><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n Joseph Curti<\/a>, University of California, Los Angeles<\/a><\/em> and Morgan Tingley<\/a>, University of California, Los Angeles<\/a><\/em><\/span>\n\n

The Earth is losing animals, plants and other living things so fast that some scientists believe the planet is entering its sixth mass extinction<\/a>. But there\u2019s some surprising good news: Urban areas may be key to slowing down or even reversing this crisis.<\/p>\n\n

This idea may seem counterintuitive, since studies show that urbanization is a big driver of biodiversity loss<\/a>. Cities alter the environment with artificial lighting<\/a> and noise pollution<\/a>, which affect many species. And urban land cover is expected to increase by 2.5% globally between 2000 and 2030<\/a> as more people move to cities. <\/p>\n\n

As one measure of urbanization, half of the continent of Europe is less than 1 mile (1.5 kilometers) from a roadway or railway line<\/a>. No location on the continent is more than 6 miles (10 kilometers) from these features.<\/p>\n\n

But there are ways for cities to use nature-based solutions<\/a> to slow species loss within their borders. At a major international conference on biodiversity loss in 2022, global leaders agreed to ambitious goals for restoring natural ecosystems across the planet<\/a>, including targets aimed at \u201censur[ing] biodiversity-inclusive urban planning\u201d.<\/p>\n\n

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