The goal of this course is to provide participants with current and practical knowledge on urban ecology, including its ecological and social aspects. During the course we will view cities as social-ecological systems, analyse urbanization challenges for human and nature, understand the role of urban green infrastructure and nature-based solutions, study how urban agriculture can contribute to the delivery of ecosystem services, use ecological indicators to evaluate the status and trends of the environment, analyse people’s perceptions and knowledge regarding biodiversity and ecosystem services, and achieving circularity of resources. Additionally, participants will gain knowledge of concepts, methods, and tools through the presentation of key findings from recent projects carried out in multiple case studies in European cities.

Course dates: July 24th, 2023 to July 28th, 2023