Nature's Neighborhood - Urban Environmental History and Neighborhood Planning

The physical form of an urban settlement is a product of the reciprocal relationship between the humans and the ecological systems in the area which act together to create an urban landscape that changes through time. While many of the interactions between the natural world and the built environment occur at the regional level, the quality of life experienced by residents is in large part a function of environmental conditions in the neighborhood. This article explores the benefits to neighborhood planning from incorporating urban environmental history. It reviews the conceptual territory of urban environmental history and presents a framework for its application to neighborhood planning. An environmental history completed for a neighborhood is highlighted to illustrate the technique.