BIMBY’s first steps: a pilot study on the contribution of residential front-yards in Phoenix and Maastricht to biodiversity, ecosystem services and urban sustainability

Abstract

Large parts of urban space around the world exist of small-scale plots such as domestic gardens. These small-scale urban spaces carry potential for enhancing biodiversity, sustainability and ecosystem services in and beyond cities. However, domestic gardening and residential garden designs are often guided by aesthetics and ease more than by the aim to create habitat and biological diversity. Yard-management decisions impact socio-ecological systems in various ways, for example through irrigation patterns, fertilization or the use of pesticides or through the choice for exotic species that may become invasive over time. Yard-management decisions can also positively influence the presence of pollinators, improve soil quality or even foster small scale ‘Wildlife Habitats’ that can function as ecological stepping stones to the wider environment. In this paper a pilot assessment is presented of the contribution of residential front-yards in Phoenix (Arizona) and Maastricht (The Netherlands) to biodiversity, ecosystem services and sustainability by applying the BIMBY (Biodiversity in My (Back) Yard) framework.