Urban biodiversity depends on both how much habitat exists and how connected those patches are — isolated green islands support far fewer species than a linked network.
richness ~ patch_coverage * connectivity / urbanisation_pressure
- City grid size — city blocks tracked for habitat patch coverage.
- Habitat patch coverage — fraction of blocks converted to pocket parks, green roofs or wildflower verges.
- Baseline urbanisation pressure — how built-up and fragmented the city is before any habitat investment.
- Patch connectivity — how easily species can move between habitat patches across the city.
Even small, disconnected pocket parks measurably raise pollinator and bird species counts, and the effect compounds sharply once patches become connected.