Ecological and social interactions in urban parks in central Arizona-Phoenix: site locations

Our central objective is to use small, neighborhood parks in Phoenix to study: (1)
the ways in which ecological processes are influenced by human values, use, and
management; and (2) the ways in which human attitudes and activities, and the
services valued by humans, are influenced by ecological characteristics and
processes. Elucidating this coupling in Phoenix parks will itself be a significant
step towards understanding the complexities of human-nature interactions. The
information gathered in addressing the central objective, though, can and should be
used to assess potential trajectories for ecological processes. Our second objective
is to develop trajectories for potential changes in ecosystem services in the
Phoenix metropolitan area, given economic and demographic trends, and given the
signal of human-nature interactions among different social groups.