Ecosystem services are essential tools for strategic thinking and masterplanning to adapt ourcities to climate change. Recently adopted by Defra, the term is fast becoming the way to view cities and their relationship to energy and water conservation, biodiverse habitat provision and natural resource.

In the context of flash flooding, Lisbon-style temperatures by 2020 and air quality alreadyproducing Level 2 Health Alerts, masterplanner and ecosystem services expert Gary Grant and living roofs campaigner, designer and policy instigator Dusty Gedge, both of the Green Roof Consultancy, discuss how an understanding of ecosystem services help us design built environments that maintain our natural life support systems.

Dusty and Gary will also present the findings of the Green Infrastructure Audit for the VictoriaDistrict of London, commissioned by the Victoria Business Improvement District, which proposes the whole scale retrofitting of Victoria for ecosystem services.