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Robert L. France

Robert France is associate professor at the Harvard Design School, Harvard University, where he teaches courses on watershed management, urban stormwater design, and environmental theory. He is president of W.D.N.R.G. Limnetics, a firm specializing in ecological restoration. He conducts research on the aquatic ecology (limnology) effects of riparian deforestation. France is author of over 100 scientific papers, with emphases on terrestrial-aquatic interactions, stable isotopes, biodiversity, and contaminants and polynyas in the Canadian arctic. His authored and edited books include Handbook of Water Sensitive Planning and Design (Lewis Publishing, 2002).He is the editor of a book series for Lewis Publishing entitled Integrative Studies in Water Management and Land Development. France received a BSc from the University of Manitoba, an MSc from the Freshwater Institute in Winnipeg, and a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, and has conducted research and taught at McGill University. Address: Harvard University, Harvard Design School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA.

Road Ecology

Science and Solutions

A central goal of transportation is the delivery of safe and efficient services with minimal environmental impact. In practice, though, human mobility has flourished while nature has suffered. Awareness of the environmental impacts of roads is increasing, yet information remains scarce for those interested in studying, understanding, or minimizing the ecological effects of roads and vehicles.

Road Ecology addresses that shortcoming by elevating previously localized and fragmented knowledge into a broad and inclusive framework for understanding and developing solutions.