ARCH 423

Planning 3-
Introduction to Urban and Regional Planning
HUMAN ECOLOGY

Prepared by: Ar. Joseph Ty Macario, uap

HUMAN ECOLOGY
WHAT IS HUMAN ECOLOGY?
 HUMAN ECOLOGY
is the interdisciplinary or transdiciplinary study of
relationship between humans and their natural, social, and
built environment.
 HUMAN ECOLOGY
the ecology of human communities and populations
especially as concerned with preservation of
environmental quality (as of air or water) through proper
application of conservation and civil engineering practices
Human Ecology combines the ideas and methods from
several disciplines, including anthropology, sociology,
biology, economic history and archeology.
1921

Robert E. Park Ernest Burgess

urban sociologist urban sociologist

• Introduction to the Science of Sociology

• ecological concepts focused on cities

They emphasized that the difference between human ecology and the
ecology of other organisms is that HUMAN SOCIETIES ARE ORGANIZED on
not only the BIOTIC LEVEL but the CULTURAL LEVEL as well.
 BIOTIC Park argues that economic and
territorial competition among
LEVEL individuals creates an economic
interdependence among them, thus
established through competition creating a symbiotic relationship.

CULTURAL Cultural level is achieved through

LEVEL mores, customs and traditions that
create a sense of common purpose
established through among individuals.
communication and consensus
1960

Ian McHarg
landscape architect
writer on regional planning

• called for a future when all planning would be “human ecological planning”
by default.

He emphasized local place-based planning that takes into consideration all

the “layers” of information from geology to botany to zoology to cultural
history.
 LOCAL PLACE-
BASED PLANNING
an approach to guiding community
development and planning

is developed through a process of making places better. It involves looking

at, listening to, and engaging with community members who live, work and
play in a particular place (from a street to an entire town) to understand their
needs and aspirations.
 HUMANS
+
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
NATURAL
ENVIRONMENT
The natural environment
encompasses all living and non-
living things occurring naturally
on Earth or some region
thereof. It is an environment that
encompasses the interaction of
all living species.
 HUMANS
+
SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
SOCIAL
ENVIRONMENT
The social environment consists of
the sum total of a society's beliefs,
customs, practices and behaviors. It
is, to a large extent, an artificial
construct that can be contrasted with
the natural environment in which we
live.
 HUMANS
+
BUILT ENVIRONMENT
BUILT
ENVIRONMENT
refers to aspects of our
surroundings that are built by
humans, that is, distinguished from
the natural environment. It
includes not only buildings, but
the human-made spaces between
buildings, such as parks, and the
infrastructure that supports human
activity such as transportation
networks, utilities networks, flood
defenses, telecommunications, and
so on.
END