Urban Protected Areas and Urban Biodiversity

Protected areas become urban protected areas by their location. The International Union for Nature Conservation defines a protected area as: “Clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated, and managed through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with its associated ecosystem services and cultural values.” Different chapters in part IV aim to contribute to increase the understanding about the general concept of urban protected areas (Iojă), trade-offs and synergies of cultural ecosystem services of these areas (Badiu et al.), and perceptions and preferences to urban nature (Hayir-Kanat and Breuste). Likewise, chapters are also provided on social aspects of biodiversity (Dushkova et al.), urban land use aspects of biodiversity (Gan and Breuste), and strategies to increase urban biodiversity in urban parks (Borysiak et al.). The case studies cover a wide range of geographical backgrounds, going from Central Europe (Borysiak et al.) to South Eastern Europe (Iojă, Badiu et al.), and including Russia (Dushkova et al.), the biggest European city, i.e., Istanbul (Hayir-Kanat and Breuste), and one of the biggest Asian cities, i.e., Shanghai (Gan and Breuste). Part IV targets to improve the understanding of nature protection and biodiversity in cities under different natural and societal conditions.