The birds‎,‎ animals‎,‎ insects‎,‎ trees and plants encountered by the majority of the world‎'‎s people are those that survive in‎,‎ adapt to‎,‎ or are introduced to‎,‎ urban areas‎.‎ Some of these organisms give great pleasure‎;‎ others invade‎,‎ colonise and occupy neglected and hidden areas such as derelict land and sewers‎.‎ Urban areas have a high biodiversity and nature within cities provides many ecosystem services including cooling the urban area‎,‎ reducing urban flood risk‎,‎ filtering pollutants‎,‎ supplying food‎,‎ and providing accessible recreation‎.‎ Yet‎,‎ protecting urban nature faces competition from other urban land uses‎.‎ The handbook of urban ecology analyses this biodiversity and complexity and provides the science to guide policy and management to make cities more attractive‎,‎ more enjoyable‎,‎ and better for our own health and that of the planet‎.‎ This handbook contains 50 interdisciplinary contributions from leading academics and practitioners from across the world to provide an in‎-depth coverage of the main elements of practical urban ecology‎.‎ It is divided into six parts‎,‎ dealing with the philosophies‎,‎ concepts and history of urban ecology‎;‎ followed by consideration of the biophysical character of the urban environment and the diverse habitats found within it‎.‎ It then examines human relationships with urban nature‎,‎ the health‎,‎ economic and environmental benefits of urban ecology before discussing the methods used in urban ecology and ways of putting the science into practice‎.‎ The handbook offers a state‎-of the art guide to the science‎,‎ practice and value of urban ecology‎.‎ The engaging contributions provide students and practitioners with the wealth of interdisciplinary information needed to manage the biota and green landscapes in urban areas‎.‎