From urban ecology to ecological urbanism: an ambiguous trajectory

The term ‘ecology’, which first emerged in relation to the biological sciences in the 19th century, has subsequently undergone a series of conceptual permutations in an urban context. Existing tensions around the definition of ‘the city’ as an object of analysis have become further complicated by the increasing deployment of ecological metaphors in urban design and related fields. It is suggested that the limitations of urban ecology, as a coherent approach for urban analysis or intervention, stem from the dynamic, interdependent and historically contested characteristics of urban nature and the ambiguous dimensions to ecology as a leitmotif for urban politics.