Abstract
The production of ecosystem services is essential for cities to adapt to climate change in the Canadian Prairies. Practices that reduce water consumption, control extreme temperatures, protect urban wildlife, and promote physical and mental health will be fundamental to preserving individual and community well-being. Our study identifies the challenges and opportunities to create a market for suburban ecosystem services in Calgary, AB, and Saskatoon, SK, by taking advantage of the potential of suburban areas to become nature-based assets. We look at the benefits and costs of transforming front yards from lawns into native/pollinator front gardens, which constitute notable producers of ecosystem services related to health and environmental quality. We determine the potential of suburban areas to produce ecosystem services and the spatial influence of the benefits of native/pollinator gardens. Knowing the challenges of sustaining ecosystem service markets in the long run, we also propose to study the feasibility of a market for suburban ecosystem services by identifying the obstacles (i.e., opportunity costs) that producers (homeowners) face and the economic values that users give to these services. We adopt an innovative and interdisciplinary approach consisting of spatial analysis based on geographic information systems, preference elicitation to identify producers’ challenges, experimental design to estimate users’ willingness to pay for ecosystem services, and cost-benefit analysis to determine market feasibility. The research findings will inform the design of urban policies and planning for adaptation to climate change and preserving well-being in cities in the Canadian Prairies.
Presenters
Ana Karinna HidalgoLecturer, Geography and Planning, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada Oscar Zapata
Assistant Professor - Centennial Chair in Community Energy Development, School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2023 Special Focus—Human/Nature: Toward A Reconciliation
KEYWORDS
Ecosystem Services, Human-Nature Health, Sustainability, Resilient Cities
