Two relatively recent observations that offer significant insights to physical planners and designers are that: (1) “patches” of native vegetation that exist in many landscapes developed for human use are too small to offer habitat to some of the species that thrived in those landscapes before humans caused widespread changes in vegetation patterns; and (2) these small patches of vegetation that remain are often distributed in isolated fragments that are no longer connected to each other in ways that could facilitate the movement of nonhuman species from one fragment to another.
"The relatively recent shift in ecological theory that has led to a more prominent consideration of dynamic, non-deterministic processes offers new opportunities for dialogue with designers who are interested in complexity. This shift challenges designers to propose patterns that influence complex processes over time, sometimes in unpredictable ways, by altering flows of organisms, materials, and energy.
"Regional biodiversity is affected not only by patch size and connectivity, but also by patch shape.
"…spatial patterns offer the most direct opportunity for urban designers and landscape architects to alter ecological relationships.
"…certain ecological issues are beginning to occupy a more central position in urban design.
"I believe that explicitly creating an infrastructure that supports regional biodiversity on a site-by-site basis while recognizing cumulative effects would be a new goal for urban design.
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