Urban ecology: brief history and present challenges / Ulrike Weiland and Matthias Richter -- Thematic-methodical approaches to applied urban ecology / Matthias Richter and Ulrike Weiland -- Monitoring urban land use changes with remote sensing techniques / Ellen Banzhaf and Maik Netzband -- Quantifying spatiotemporal patterns and ecological effects of urbanization: a multiscale landscape approach / Jianguo Wu ... [et al.] -- Designing urban systems: ecological strategies with stocks and flows of energy and material / Peter Baccini -- Environmental and ecological threats in Indian mega-cities / Surinder Aggarwal and Carsten Butsch -- From wasteland to wilderness: aspects of a new form of urban nature / Dieter Rink and Harriet Herbst -- Multiscale flood risk assessment in urban areas: a geoinformatics approach / Norman Kerle and Dinand Alkema -- Urban open spaces and adaptation to climate change / Marialena Nikolopoulou -- Social aspects of urban ecology in developing countries, with an emphasis on urban domestic gardens / Sarel Cilliers ... [et al.] -- Plant material for urban landscapes in the era of globalization: roots, challenges and innovative solutions / Maria Ignatieva -- Ecological infrastructure leads the way: the negative approach and landscape urbanism for smart preservation and smart growth / Kongjian Yu -- Integrating science and creativity for landscape planning and design of urban areas / Antje Stokman and Christina von Haaren -- Landscape as a living system: Shanghai 2010 Expo Houtan Park / Kongjian Yu -- Geographical perspectives on a radical political ecology of water / Alex Loftus -- Synthesizing urban ecology research and topics for urban environmental management / Matthias Richter and Ulrike Weiland