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Numerous studies indicate an accelerated growth of forest trees, induced by ongoing climate change. Similar trends were recently found for urban trees in major cities worldwide. Studies frequently report about substantial effects of climate change and the urban heat island effect (UHI) on plant growth. The combined effects of increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and extended growing season lengths, in addition to increasing nitrogen deposition and higher CO2 concentrations, can increase but also reduce plant growth. Closely related to this, the multiple functions and services provided by urban trees may be modified. Urban trees generate numerous ecosystem services, including carbon storage, mitigation of the heat island effect, reduction of rainwater runoff, pollutant filtering, recreation effects, shading, and cooling. The quantity of the ecosystem services is often closely associated with the species, structure, age, and size of the tree as well as with a tree’s vitality. Therefore, greening cities, and particularly planting trees, seems to be an effective option to mitigate climate change and the UHI. The focus of this Special Issue is to underline the importance of trees as part of the urban green areas for major cities in all climate zones. Empirical as well as modeling studies of urban tree growth and their services and disservices in cities worldwide are included. Articles about the dynamics, structures, and functions of urban trees as well as the influence of climate and climate change on urban tree growth, urban species composition, carbon storage, and biodiversity are also discussed.

green spaces --- urban heat island --- Landsat TM --- human health --- root:shoot ratio --- choice experiment --- urban trees --- BVOC emission --- climate change --- urbanity --- urbanization --- sustainability --- drought stress --- ecosystem disservices --- tree growth --- Greenway --- oxides --- hot arid urban climate --- carbon sequestration --- abundance --- landscape planning --- bud break --- urban microclimate --- tree competition --- urban forest --- allergenic potential --- sampling plots --- climate change implications --- ecosystem modeling --- preferences --- urban parks --- basal area --- urban tree growth --- air pollution removal --- environmental quality --- species richness --- surface temperature --- drought --- growing season --- air pollution --- ecosystem services --- biomass allocation

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The field of design and health, formerly known as the domain of healthcare design professionals, has now reached a turning point with the proliferation of a plethora of non-invasive wearable technologies, to provide the objective and near-real-time measurement of the impact of many features of the built environment on aspects of health, wellbeing and performance. In turn, new materials and the Internet of Things are allowing the development of smart buildings, which can interact with occupants to optimize their health, wellbeing, performance and overall experience. Companies that have previously focused on positioning themselves as “green” are now turning to positioning themselves in the marketplace as both green and healthy. This Special Issue will include articles that address new cutting edge technologies and materials at the interface between design and health, and review some of the latest findings related to studies which use these technologies. This SI will also suggest exciting future directions for the field. It will include articles which focus on the objective data gathered to document the effects of the built environment on health. Importantly, it will focus on the use of innovative methods of measurement, such as state-of-the-art wearable and environmental sensors, quantifying some aspects of health, such as stress and relaxation responses, activity, posture, sleep quality, cognitive performance and wellbeing outcomes. It will also examine the impacts of different elements of the built environment on these health and wellbeing outcomes. The published articles will focus on the design interventions informed by these measurements, along with innovative integrated building materials that can shape the design of built environments for better health, productivity, and performance. It will also address the return on investment (ROI) of such design interventions. This Special Issue will provide both the foundational knowledge and fundamentals for characterizing human health and wellbeing in the built environment, as well as the emerging trends and design methods for innovations in this field.

lifestyle --- mood states --- perceived restorativeness scale --- positive and negative affect schedule --- quality of life --- resilience --- restorative outcome scale --- Shinrin-yoku --- stress coping --- subjective vitality scale --- open spaces 2 --- CKD 3 --- renal function --- exercise --- obesity --- urban environment --- walkability --- active transportation --- college students --- supportive soundscape --- sonic environment --- nursing homes --- ageing --- dementia --- green spaces --- cardiovascular risk factors --- gender --- hypercholesterolemia --- hypertension --- diabetes --- bamboo forest therapy --- psychological responses --- physiological responses --- immune system --- violent crime --- urban parks --- greenspace --- green space --- scoping review --- systematic review --- literature review --- urban --- landscape --- brain --- visual --- green --- contemplative --- mental health --- well-being --- FAA --- EEG --- UGS --- depression --- human health --- built environment --- urban open space --- forest healing --- wellbeing --- psychology --- physiology

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The school of thought surrounding the urban ecosystem has increasingly become in vogue among researchers worldwide. Since half of the world’s population lives in cities, urban ecosystem services have become essential to human health and wellbeing. Rapid urban growth has forced sustainable urban developers to rethink important steps by updating and, to some degree, recreating the human–ecosystem service linkage. Assessing, as well as estimating the losses of ecosystem services can denote the essential effects of urbanization and increasingly indicate where cities fall short. This book contains 13 thoroughly refereed contributions published within the Special Issue “Urban Ecosystem Services”. The book addresses topics such as nature-based solutions, green space planning, green infrastructure, rain gardens, climate change, and more. The contributions highlight new findings for landscape architects, urban planners, and policymakers. Important future cities research is considered by looking at the system connectivity between the social and ecological sphere—via varying forms of urban planning, management, and governance. The book is supported by methods and models that utilize an urban sustainability and ecosystem service-centric focus by adding knowledge-base and real-world solutions into the urbanization phenomenon.

urban planning --- urban space --- urban regeneration --- planning process --- public participation --- forest fragmentation --- sustainable development goal (SDG) --- land consumption rate to the population growth rate (LCRPGR) --- biodiversity --- non-native species --- protected species --- range expansion --- species distributions --- ecosystem services --- assessment --- urban ecosystem services --- site --- green infrastructure --- cities --- systematic literature review --- urban greenspace --- privatization --- property rights --- incremental greenspace loss --- the tyranny of small decisions --- resilience planning --- urban densification --- baseline shifts --- urban nature connection --- green spaces --- ecosystem disservices --- economic benefits --- proximity principle --- hedonic pricing analysis --- climate change --- human health, human-nature connection theory --- urbanization --- urban resilience theory --- capacity building --- municipal planning practice --- urban governance --- environmental planning --- nature-based solutions --- urban adaptive capacity --- LiDAR/NDVI --- stakeholders --- Delphi analysis --- full-scale infiltration test --- MPD infiltration test --- boreholes --- SuDS --- NBS --- flood resilience --- online climate adaptation platforms --- citizen science --- community-building --- n/a