Relevance of Urban Ecosystem Services for Sustaining Urban Ecology in Cities-A Case Study of Ahmedabad City

Abstract

Rapid urbanization and changing dynamics of cities in a developing nation like India are experiencing its impact in the form of degraded environmental conditions. Apart from various other factors, the spatial growth of cities is also associated with the process of land management techniques deployed for its development. An alternative approach to holistic development suggests integrating ecological perspective in the decision-making process of spatial growth and pattern of cities. A global perspective on such a topic tries to formulate agendas to ensure the environmental health of the planet. The field of planning is associated with spatial development considering the physical, social, economic, and environmental concerns. The interrelation of the above aspects and their adopted weightage results in the spatial pattern generated in the cities. The field of urban ecology makes a notable attempt to bridge the gap between spatial planning and environmental concern, simultaneously fostering the resilience of cities. The urban ecology field knowledge having integrated consideration of ecosystem service could be promoted as a tool for ensuring future development planning process in cities. This research investigates the scenario and status of ecological concern in the case of the rapidly growing metropolitan city of Ahmedabad using a response survey and LULC change over a temporal scale of 25 years. The secondary data from the USGS site has been used to conduct spatial analysis of remote sensing data. The decadal change in land cover and its effects on ecosystem services have a direct link with the environmental degradation in the study area. This decadal change in LULC is used to analyze the overall environmental quality of urbanizing areas. The inferences from the case study are used to formulate the suggestive future policy framework for a city development plan.