Biodiversity and the city - Introduction

Bernard Swynghedauw explores with us a still quite unknown biodiversity, which plays an essential role for our development: the microbiota. It consists of all the microorganisms living in our organism

Bernard Swynghedauw defines the biodiversity, the health, and the disease. He evidences the importance of the environmental and / or genetic factors in the appearance of diseases. He also links the

Nathalie Machon uses the approach of ecosystem services to highlight the interest in preserving and promoting the urban nature: supply services, control services, cultural services and support

Bernard Swynghedauw proposes an overview of the epidemiological transitions over the last centuries, with a decrease of the mortality linked to the infections, and an increase of the mortality linked

With Nathalie Machon, we will discover the urban biodiversity. She proposes a zoning of cities depending on the extent of the green areas, then she explains the ecological features specific to this

Bernard Swynghedauw comes back to the microbiota we host, that is the bacterial life we coexist and coevolve with. He evidences its distribution inside our organism, some factors which are responsible

Nathalie Machon presents some factors influencing the quality of the urban biodiversity: climate, soil features, age of the habitat, fragmentation and heterogeneity of the green areas... She concludes

Bernard Swynghedauw proposes an overview of the new medical landscape, marked by the emergence of several risks and diseases. He especially explores the age, the infectious risk and the immune risk,

Bernard Swynghedauw presents the main groups of living organisms (prokaryotes, eukaryotes, virus), and evokes the link between this biodiversity and the health, insisting on two aspects: the dilution

Nathalie Machon brings data about the functioning of urban animal and plant populations. The cities are environments marked by an important fragmentation of habitats and by constraining

Bernard Swynghedauw talks about the microbial biodiversity. He first defines it, then he highlights the changes which affect it, related to the human activities. He also brings us data regarding the

Bernard Swynghedauw speaks in favour of a truly comprehensive ecology of health. He especially wants to better take into account the microbiota in the public health issues. He also raises the question