Not by trees alone: Centering community in urban forestry

Campbell, Lindsay K.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Johnson, Michelle L.; Plitt, Sophie

doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2022.104445

Cited by 27 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Additionally, the findings of Johnson et al (2020) and Ziter et al (2019) suggest some of these interventions have to be considered at a scale as small as individual blocks, since at larger scales, cooling effects of trees may not be felt from one edge of a unit to another. While increasing access to the urban forest and its benefits is important through lenses of equity, public health, and general climate resilience, it is important that communities affected are authentically engaged, with opportunities for their visions to be elevated to support their selfdetermination for a more just end result (Campbell et al, 2022). Three examples of means by which the landscape can be changed to accommodate expansion of the urban forest are: through broad changes in zoning regulations; rezoning specific neighborhoods; and redesigning streetscapes, within which street trees are generally planted.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Deciding which strategy makes sense where, and how to prioritize expansion of the urban forest requires coordination with those who will be affected by such decisions and landscape changes. Policy interventions to drive landscape change should be developed with local participation and hand-in-hand with other policies that prevent consequences such as green gentrification, if the goal is to expand urban forest benefits to those who stand to benefit the most (Gould and Lewis, 2012;Schell et al, 2020;Campbell et al, 2022;García-Lamarca et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Understanding Opportunities for Urban Forest Expansion to Inform Goals: Working Toward a Virtuous Cycle in New York City

Treglia¹,

Piland²,

Leu³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Urban forests are critical infrastructure for mitigating environmental and social challenges cities face. Municipalities and non-governmental entities, among others, often set goals (e.g., tree planting or canopy targets) to support urban forests and their benefits. We focus on canopy goals and develop conceptual underpinnings for an analysis of where additional canopy, as one important dimension of the urban forest, can fit within the landscape, while considering factors that influence where trees can be planted and where canopy can grow – ‘practical canopy.’ We apply this in New York City (NYC) to inform the setting of a canopy goal by the NYC Urban Forest Task Force (UFTF) for the NYC Urban Forest Agenda, which may trigger a virtuous cycle that supports the urban forest there. We further develop framing for a ‘priority canopy’ analysis to understand where urban forest expansion should be prioritized given more context (e.g., environmental hazards, local preferences), which can inform how expansion of the urban forest is achieved. We estimate an opportunity for 15,899 ha of new canopy in NYC given existing opportunities and constraints (practical canopy), which, if leveraged, could result in nearly doubling the canopy as of 2017 (17,253 ha). However, like existing canopy, practical canopy is not evenly distributed, in general, or across jurisdictions and land uses. Relying solely on areas identified as practical canopy to expand the urban forest would exacerbate inequities in its distribution. We discuss how the NYC UFTF established an aspirational but achievable goal of 30% canopy cover by 2035, which was informed by this analysis and guided by priorities of equity, health, and resilience. Achievement of this goal will ultimately require a combination of protecting and stewarding the existing resource, and leveraging opportunities for tree planting. Achieving a more equitable urban forest will also require identification of priority canopy, and, in cases, creation of new opportunities for tree planting and canopy expansion. Overall, the collaborative establishment of such goals based on local context can be instrumental in creating a virtuous cycle, moving conservation actors toward exercising influence and agency within the social ecological system.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Opportunities for Urban Forest Expansion to Inform Goals: Working Toward a Virtuous Cycle in New York City

Treglia¹,

Piland²,

Leu³

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Volunteering in urban forest stewardship also results in co-occurring social benefits, such as strengthening social ties and creating opportunity for other civic engagement (Fisher et al, 2015). Additionally, grant funding available to non-profit organizations often focuses on "building" activities such as planting, rather than long-term care (e.g., Young, 2011;Foo et al, 2018;Campbell et al, 2022).…”

Section: Cross-location Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

A tale of urban forest patch governance in four eastern US cities

Morzillo

Campbell

King³

et al. 2022

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

Self Cite

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“…Further research is needed to better understand how temperature reduction benefits of urban forests scale across the landscape and could inform more specific local goals, though expanding the benefits of the urban forest such as this can ultimately help increase support for the resource in the positive feedback loop of the virtuous cycle. While increasing access to the urban forest and its benefits is important through lenses of equity, public health, and general climate resilience, it is important that communities affected are authentically engaged, with opportunities for their visions to be elevated to support their self-determination for a more just end result (Campbell et al, 2022). Further, such engagement, in concert with other policies, can help prevent consequences such as green gentrification, if the goal is to expand urban forest to those who stand to benefit the most (Gould and Lewis, 2012;Schell et al, 2020;Campbell et al, 2022;García-Lamarca et al, 2022).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…While increasing access to the urban forest and its benefits is important through lenses of equity, public health, and general climate resilience, it is important that communities affected are authentically engaged, with opportunities for their visions to be elevated to support their self-determination for a more just end result (Campbell et al, 2022). Further, such engagement, in concert with other policies, can help prevent consequences such as green gentrification, if the goal is to expand urban forest to those who stand to benefit the most (Gould and Lewis, 2012;Schell et al, 2020;Campbell et al, 2022;García-Lamarca et al, 2022). Three examples of means by which the landscape can be changed to accommodate expansion of the urban forest are as follows: through broad changes in zoning regulations; rezoning specific neighborhoods; and redesigning streetscapes, within which street trees are generally planted.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding opportunities for urban forest expansion to inform goals: Working toward a virtuous cycle in New York City

Piland

Leu

et al. 2022

Front. Sustain. Cities

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Urban forests are critical infrastructure for mitigating environmental and social challenges cities face. Municipalities and non-governmental entities, among others, often set goals (e.g., tree planting or canopy targets) to support urban forests and their benefits. We develop the conceptual underpinnings for an analysis of where additional canopy can fit within the landscape, while considering factors that influence where trees can be planted, and canopy can grow (“practical canopy”). We apply this in New York City (NYC) to inform the setting of a canopy goal by the NYC Urban Forest Task Force (UFTF) for the NYC Urban Forest Agenda, which may trigger a virtuous cycle, or a positive feedback loop where people are mobilized to protect the urban forest, and its benefits that ultimately motivate people to commit to its conservation. We further develop framing for a “priority canopy” analysis to understand where urban forest expansion should be prioritized given more context (e.g., environmental hazards and local preferences), which can inform how expansion of the urban forest is achieved. We estimate an opportunity for 15,899 ha of new canopy in NYC given existing opportunities and constraints (practical canopy), which, if leveraged, could result in nearly doubling the canopy as of 2017 (17,253 ha). However, like existing canopy, practical canopy is not evenly distributed, in general, or across jurisdictions and land uses. Relying solely on areas identified as practical canopy to expand the urban forest would exacerbate these inequities. We discuss how the NYC UFTF established a visionary and achievable goal of at least 30% canopy cover by 2035, informed by this analysis and guided by priorities of equity, health, and resilience. Achievement of this goal will ultimately require a combination of protecting and stewarding the existing resource, and leveraging opportunities for tree planting. Achieving a more equitable urban forest will also require identification of priority canopy, and, in cases, creation of new opportunities for tree planting and canopy expansion. Overall, the collaborative establishment of such goals based on local context can be instrumental in creating a virtuous cycle, moving conservation actors toward exercising influence and agency within the social–ecological system.

show abstract

Not by trees alone: Centering community in urban forestry

Cited by 27 publications

References 53 publications

Understanding Opportunities for Urban Forest Expansion to Inform Goals: Working Toward a Virtuous Cycle in New York City

Understanding Opportunities for Urban Forest Expansion to Inform Goals: Working Toward a Virtuous Cycle in New York City

A tale of urban forest patch governance in four eastern US cities

Understanding opportunities for urban forest expansion to inform goals: Working toward a virtuous cycle in New York City

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