Urban ecology

The expansion of the urban environment is causing fragmentation/destruction of natural habitats, conservation problems and a change in the relationship between man and nature. However, urban areas can also harbor significant biodiversity in close proximity to humans, which can then be used for conservation, awareness raising, human welfare enhancement and even therapeutic purposes. It is a challenge to work in ecology while denying the existence and consequences of the urban environment and its particularities. The aim of this course is to help future professionals in the field of ecology to find a compromise between urban development and respect for nature. Through courses given by various professionals and an outing in Montpellier, the student will discover where (associations, research departments, communities, ...), with whom and how an ecologist can act in urban ecology.

Knowledge of ecology at the undergraduate level is required

-Explain the particularities of biodiversity in an urban environment and the constraints it faces 

-Understand the issues related to the development of a territory

 -Know the different phases of a land development project and the actors involved

-Critique the ecological aspects of an urban development project

-propose measures to maintain and/or promote biodiversity in the urban environment

-Reconciling biodiversity issues and development on a territorial scale