Urban vacant lots are a ubiquitous feature in cities worldwide and quickly are becoming a topic of discussion regarding their ecological and social impacts. Vacant lots are typically viewed as discarded spaces within the city and locations for crime, trash, and overgrown vegetation. We suggest, however, that vacant lots are important informal greenspaces for bird habitat and potential locations for social cohesion. Through our research, we have surveyed 150 vacant lots in Baltimore to assess their current context and uses, their habitat quality for a diverse bird community, and to determine the social implications of vacant lots via the community’s perception. Overall, we found that vacant lots offer enormous potential for supporting native bird communities, particularly if the lots have abundant trees and areas of dense shrubs. Research is still ongoing.
Collaborators: Charles Nilon (University of Missouri) and Paige Warren (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
Publications:
Articles in the News:
Collaborators: Charles Nilon (University of Missouri) and Paige Warren (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
Publications:
- Rega-Brodsky, C.C. and C.H. Nilon. 2016. Forest cover is important across multiple scales for bird communities in vacant lots. Urban Ecosystems 20(3): 561-571. DOI 10.1007/s11252-016-0614-5.
- Rega-Brodsky, C.C. and C.H. Nilon. 2016. Vacant lots as a habitat resource: Nesting success and body condition of songbirds. Ecosphere 7(11):e01578. DOI 10.1002/ecs2.1578.
- Rega-Brodsky, C.C., Nilon, C.H., and P.S. Warren. 2018. Balancing urban biodiversity needs and resident preferences for vacant lot management. Sustainability 10(5): 1679. DOI 10.3390/su10051679
Articles in the News:
- August 19, 2017: "Cities as Novel Ecosystems: Adaptions to Urban Conditions" blog post on PLOS Ecology Community discussed vacant lot research. Website