A New Framework to Address the Why Behind Urban Biodiversity Inequity

Across America, wealthier neighborhoods often have higher biodiversity than less wealthy neighborhoods in the same cities. Urban ecologists call this the “luxury effect.” Critics of this term say that it only explains where inequity exists and doesn’t address why, which can lead to ineffective policies that don’t address these disparities. A new framework investigates the historical power imbalances that led to these disparities.

Urban biodiversity is linked to many benefits to human health, like cleaner air, pest control, and better mental and physical wellbeing. This biodiversity is most commonly found in parks, community gardens, and projects like pollinator gardens. But areas like these are typically limited to affluent neighborhoods often because they have the resources to request and maintain them. This unequal distribution of benefits can have implications for long term health in less wealthy urban areas.

“One of the major problems with the term ‘luxury effect’ is that it implies that biodiversity is not a necessity, but rather a nice to have,” says Jin Bai, 2020-21 Global Change Research Fellow and author of the paper. “The luxury effect phenomenon does exist, but it’s not helpful, scientifically or practically, in addressing the inequities it describes.”

The researchers’ POSE framework encourages urban ecologists to investigate specific actors – like community groups or residents – for the Power they hold, what their Objectives are that may impact biodiversity, their Socio-ecological context, and the Effort they employ to reach their objectives.

Using this framework, researchers can understand the limitations specific actors may face when implementing biodiversity projects. Policies can then better target roadblocks limiting change, like lack of power actors have to push for projects like a neighborhood park, or the lack of effort they have for upkeep.

“Seeing the pattern of inequality is just the first step,” says Bai. “Truly understanding the major factors that are driving those patterns is where we can address those gaps on a policy level.” 

The researchers suggest that this framework should be implemented in the design of future research studies. As a first step, the authors suggest revisiting cases where the data on power, socio-ecological context, and effort is available to see changes over time. 

The paper, “Biodiversity is not a luxury: unpacking wealth and power to accommodate the complexity of urban biodiversity” was published in Ecosphere on November 17, 2024. The paper was co-authored by Renata Poulton Kamakura from Duke University, and Vallari Sheel and Madhusudan Katti from NC State University. This research was supported by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center.