Abstract: |
Greenways are promoted for land conservation in both rural and urban areas, but less attention has been paid to the potential of greenways to serve urban biodiversity conservation goals. This paper presents results of a biodiversity planning study of a highly urbanized environment in Washington, DC (USA) that demonstrate the critical role of ecological greenways and parks in urban species conservation. The Cameron Run study raises fundamental questions about the way biodiversity is defined in urban areas, the scale of analysis required in heterogeneous urban environments, the role of sociocultural factors in urban biodiversity conservation, and the importance of regional greenway connections across the urban gradient. |