Children, Nature and Cities : Rethinking the Connections (Hardcover)

Part 1 Children and nature- approaches to nature 1. Conceptions of nature, contested definitions and approaches / What type of nature is needed and why? / The environmental/nature challenge; cities and children under stress / Defining and modelling nature relationships / Positive orientation / The case for natural urban childhoods 2. Children’s views and perspectives Listening to children: their views on the nature relationship / Accessing children’s views and perspectives: some methods / Children’s voice / Where do children encounter nature and influencing factors? / Where do children go and why? / Re-establishing nature access Part 2. Understanding urban biodiversity in a changing environment 3. Wild nature, biodiversity, habitats and species / An ecological approach / Characteristics of urban habitats / Species occurrence and distributions / Modified landforms and their role in maintaining biodiversity / Characteristics of urban species ? what makes them succeed or fail? / Challenges and responses to urban living / Buildings / Roads / Artificial illumination / Anthropogenic noise / Conclusions and future challenges 4. An ecologist’s perspective of the human dimensions of urban ecosystems / Human impacts / Challenges and benefits of human interactions with urban wildlife/ Bird feeding / Wildlife gardening / Recreation /Valuing the urban / Optimal landscape design paradigms for ecosystems? / Integrating the ecological and human dimension 5. The changing city / The changing urban form / Industrialising and greying cityscapes / Planning for greenspace / The unplanned greenspace / Greening the living environment / What type of city will children inhabit? / Moving forward with the built environment Part 3 Children and nature interactions 6. Children, families, nature and the home / Formative encounters / Families matter / Holidays / Animals / The home / Building more natural homes 7. Children, nature and health: the benefits of nature / Why health? / Conceptualising the nature-health relationship: biophobia to biophilia / The health benefits of nature / Children’s health and nature connection / Outdoor play / Familiar animals / Challenging environments / Accessing nature’s benefits 8. Culture and nature, different experiences different ways of interacting / Socio-cultural contexts of nature / Different viewpoints / Nationhood, religious and cultural belief systems / Identity and belonging / Accessing nature for children with disabilities / Nature as threat / Nature contact a complex web 9. Mediated Nature / Different forms of contact/ Mediated nature: problem, asset, or both? / Stories and poems/ Books / Films and Television / Documentaries / Interactive media-computers and games / Going forward with media to engage with naturePart 4 Creating connections, making it happen ? biodiverse environments for all children 10. Redressing the balance in challenging urban environments: bringing nature back to where children live / Challenging environments / Deprivation: lack of nature vs lack of access to nature / The social dimension / Redressing the nature imbalance in challenging environments / Bringing nature into children’s lives 11. Working for and with children for more biodiverse cities / What do we need for a biodiverse child-friendly city? / Planning for nature: the need for a coherent and coordinated strategy / Biodiversity initiatives / Creating more biodiverse city spaces / Biodiverse service spaces / Children as researchers and contributors to biodiversity knowledge / An assessment of progress 12. Towards better cities for children