This perspective emerged from ongoing dialogue among ecologists initiated by a virtual workshop in 2021. A transdisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners conclude that urban ecology as a science can better contribute to positive futures by focusing on relationships, rather than prioritizing urban structures. Insights from other relational disciplines, such as political ecology, governance, urban design, and conservation also contribute. Relationality is especially powerful given the need to rapidly adapt to the changing social and biophysical drivers of global urban systems. These unprecedented dynamics are better understood through a relational lens than traditional structural questions. We use three kinds of coproduction—of the social-ecological world, of science, and of actionable knowledge—to identify key processes of coproduction within urban places. Connectivity is crucial to relational urban ecology. Eight themes emerge from the joint explorations of the paper and point toward social action for improving life and environment in urban futures.

这一观点源于 2021 年虚拟研讨会发起的生态学家之间的持续对话。一个由研究人员和实践者组成的跨学科小组得出结论，城市生态学作为一门科学，可以通过关注关系而不是优先考虑城市结构来更好地为积极的未来做出贡献。来自其他相关学科的见解，如政治生态学、治理、城市设计和保护也有所贡献。鉴于需要快速适应全球城市系统不断变化的社会和生物物理驱动因素，关联性尤其强大。与传统的结构性问题相比，通过关系视角可以更好地理解这些前所未有的动态。我们使用社会生态世界、科学和可操作知识的三种共同生产来确定城市场所内共同生产的关键过程。连通性对于关系城市生态至关重要。该论文的共同探索提出了八个主题，并指向改善城市未来生活和环境的社会行动。