<P> Cities should be planned and constructed in such a way that minimizes the urban effects on the surrounding environment (urban heat island, precipitation, etc .) as well as optimizing ecological activity . For example, increasing the albedo, or reflective power, of surfaces in urban areas, can minimize urban heat island, resulting in a lower magnitude of the urban heat island effect in urban areas . By minimizing these abnormal temperature trends and others, ecological activity would likely be improved in the urban setting . </P> <P> Urbanization has indeed had a profound effect on the environment, on both local and global scales . Difficulties in actively constructing habitat corridor and returning biogeochemical cycles to normal raise the question as to whether such goals are feasible . However, some groups are working to return areas of land affected by the urban landscape to a more natural state . This includes using landscape architecture to model natural systems and restore rivers to pre-urban states . </P> <P> With the ever - increasing demands for resources necessitated by urbanization, recent campaigns to move toward sustainable energy and resource consumption, such as LEED certification of buildings, Energy Star certified appliances, and zero emission vehicles, have gained momentum . Sustainability reflects techniques and consumption ensuring reasonably low resource use as a component of urban ecology . Techniques such as carbon recapture may also be used to sequester carbon compounds produced in urban centers rather continually emitting more of the greenhouse gas . </P> <P> Urbanization results in a series of both local and far - reaching effects on biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles, hydrology, and climate, among many other stresses . Many of these effects are not fully understood, as urban ecology has only recently emerged as a scientific discipline and much more research remains to be done . Research on cities outside the US and Europe remains limited . Observations on the impact of urbanization on biodiversity and species interactions are consistent across many studies but definitive mechanisms have yet to be established . Urban ecology constitutes an important and highly relevant subfield of ecology, and further study must be pursued to more fully understand the effects of human urban areas on the environment . </P>

Biological patterns and associated environmental processes in urban areas