Abstract
Issues relating to urban poverty are attaining primacy in social science research today due to the increasing expansion of cities and towns. This has been caused by migration from rural areas but, of late, much more by the aspiring urban communities/individuals that move from one urban area to another, leading to rapid expansion of existing urban areas.
The challenge before planners, administrators and the urban community is, therefore, to make the urban areas environmentally pleasant to live in by ridding them of natural resource degradation and related threats. Urban ecology takes a holistic approach to understand these threats and the methods to conserve human aspects or human-related ecosystem in urban areas. It views the cities as part of living ecosystems, providing valuable resources and services that promote wealth, health and quality of life. The goal is to integrate social and ecological sciences for a better understanding of human actions and their impact on life-supporting ecosystems in and outside city boundaries.