CMP 5510/6610: Urban Ecology

Urban ecology is a relatively young but fast-growing field of study that focuses on the cities and towns we live in as complex ecosystems in their own right. Ecology is inherently a descriptive discipline; it seeks to understand how organisms interact with each other and with their surrounding urban environment. In the context of cities, this means that urban ecologists must consider all organisms, including humans, natural and human-built environments, such as roads and high-rise buildings, and technologies, such as power lines and computer systems. Ecology stands in complementary contrast to the built environment professions such as planning, engineering, and architecture, which are prescriptive fields; they make decisions and take actions to shape the world we live in.

A core goal of urban ecology research and practice is to transform our cities and towns into more sustainable, resilient, and livable spaces through sound policy, planning, and design. As such, urban ecology has evolved into a transdisciplinary field, drawing on knowledge from multiple disciplines (ecology, urban planning, geography, engineering, and public health, to name a few) and from local communities, decision makers, government agencies, architects, and landscape architects.

In this course, we  examine diverse perspectives and methods in the study of cities as ecosystems, and the implications for urban policy, planning, and design. We  use a scenario-based approach, focusing on air quality, water availability, urban trees, and urban farming to learn about complex urban environmental issues and explore real-world solutions to them. We focus on Salt Lake City and its surroundings, which  provides a framework for place-based urban ecology.

Courses taught at the University of North Texas from 2012-2022.

GEOG 1710: Earth Science

The earth is a complex and interacting system composed of air (atmosphere), water (hydrosphere), rock (lithosphere), and life (biosphere). In this course, we learn about the earth system and the  factors that shape the ever-changing earth and environment in which we live. The goal of this class is to discover, explore, and experience the wonders and curiosities of planet earth.  

GEOG 2180: Geosystems, Environment and Society

In this course, we explore physical geography, the features and patterns occurring at the Earth’s surface and the natural and human  processes that give rise to them.  Students in this class learn about four major fields in physical   geography: climatology, geomorphology and soils, hydrology, and biogeography.  Students learn how to see, think, and communicate like a geographer: by studying the concepts of place, space, and scale; synthesizing information from diverse fields; and representing information visually.

GEOL 4710: Ecosystems: Structure, Function, Services

Ecosystem science studies interactions between organisms and the physical environment as an integrated system and seeks to understand the factors that regulate the quantity and flow of materials and energy through ecosystems. Course lectures will cover the history and use of the ecosystem concept, factors governing the distribution and structure of ecosystems, relationships between ecosystem structure and function, and the influence of natural and human processes on ecosystem dynamics. The focus of this course is on terrestrial ecosystems in temperate and tropical regions.  Current topics and methods in ecosystem science will be discussed in class and examined through case studies.