As cities expand globally, it is important to understand how human activities and institutions shape biodiversity and conversely, how ecological processes shape human outcomes. Research in some cities reveals a positive association between socioeconomic status (SES) and species diversity. Yet, other studies show that residents with lower SES enjoy greater biodiversity or that SES and biodiversity appear unrelated. We identified and coded 84 case studies from 34 cities in which researchers assessed SES-biodiversity relationships. We used fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to evaluate combinations of city-level and study design factors that explain why SES-biodiversity relationships vary city to city and between plants and animals.
Results/Conclusions
While the majority of cases demonstrated increased biodiversity in higher SES neighborhoods, we identified circumstances in which inequality in biodiversity was ameliorated or negated by urban form, social policy, or collective human preference. Overall, the meta-analysis highlights the contributions of residential and municipal decisions in differentially promoting biodiversity along socioeconomic lines. With a more nuanced and global understanding of how biodiversity aligns with socioeconomic inequality in cities, we can better address inequality of nature exposures and experiences now and in the future while at the same time promoting biodiversity conservation and urban sustainability.