illustrated animals larger than life and in color in an otherwise black and white cityscape

The Accidental Ecosystem: People and Wildlife in American Cities

by Peter S. Alagona Author

This fascinating look at the symbiosis between built environments and wildlife reveals the ways that nature is not a separate sphere from the natural world, but a part and parcel of it. In fact, author Peter Alagona reveals that even as wildlife density has decreased in rural environments, it has increased in urban environments. Cities have become - rather accidentally - major habitats for a variety of species, and in this book Alagona examines how it is that metropolises across North America came to host such a wide array of life. Beyond understanding why animals have flocked to urban environments, Alagona also offers clues as to how we might move forward and reimagine these spaces in ways that lead to more harmonious coexistence.