Compact, eco-, hybrid or teleconnected? Novel aspects of urban ecological research seeking compatible solutions to socio-ecological complexities

Scientists in this urban century have published numerous studies proposing a wide range of theoretical and technical methodologies for addressing the complex challenges posed to urban livelihoods. The most critical challenge that has yet to be overcome is how to respond to the demands of decision-makers who seek ready-made and rapidly implementable solutions for sustainable urban development. This paper introduces and briefly discusses the contemporary concepts and overarching ideas in urban ecology research, which should be of relevance to the wide range of compact, yet sprawling, and eco-cities, as well as to researchers investigating the ecology of cities. This work serves as an introduction to the Special Issue of Ecological Indicators resulting from the First Congress of the Society for Urban Ecology, held in Berlin in July 2013. A combination of theoretical and technical papers is included. A mixture of exploratory urban indicators is proposed, and some existing indicators are further tested with novel methods in cross-continental, interdisciplinary case studies.