In Rhizomia: Actors, Networks and Resilience in Urban Landscapes

  • Ernstson H
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Abstract

The overarching theme of this thesis is the generation and distribution of urban ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are the benefits humans de-rive from ecological processes such as food, clean water, stress relief, and improved air quality, which depend upon complex interactions between spe-cies and matter. Research in natural resource management has mostly been from a functional management perspective, and less engagement has been from a critical perspective concerning who in society benefit from these services and how issues of equity and power influence ecosystem manage-ment. Both perspectives are pursued here. The bulk of the empirical data has been generated through a case study of an urban social movement that has protected the Stockholm National Urban Park from exploitation, a large and centrally lying green area. In Paper I, a theoretical argument is made that ecosystem management can be studied through analyzing the structure of social networks, i.e. the patterns of rela-tions between agencies, stakeholders and user groups. In Paper II, a social network analysis of the 62 movement organizations revealed a core-periphery structure effective to ward off exploitation plans, but which also seems to have constrained ecosystem management; user groups with eco-logical knowledge have been marginalized on collaborative arenas due to their peripheral social network position. Based on in-depth interviews and participatory observations, Paper III traces the practice by which activists constructed holistic values and visions for the park. The articulation of val-ues seems to have been conditioned by the access to certain artefacts (his-torical maps, biodiversity mappings etc.) and social arenas. In Paper IV, and based upon other case studies from Stockholm, a conducive network struc-ture is proposed aimed at linking managers and user groups (e.g. allotment gardens, cemetary managers, and urban planners) across spatial ecological scales so as to improve management. Building on the previous papers, Paper V presents a framework to analyze the social-ecological dynamics behind the generation and distribution of ecosystem services in urban landscapes. The thesis argues that urban green areas should be acknowledged as physical sites of social-ecological interaction that can nurture ecological knowledge, value creation processes, and human agency to improve urban ecological processes. The thesis points towards the notion of a social pro-duction of ecosystem services and argues for deeper engagement with the fields of urban political ecology and critical geography.

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APA

Ernstson, H. (2008). In Rhizomia: Actors, Networks and Resilience in Urban Landscapes.

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