CitiesGoGreen - February 2009 - (Page 19) W alk through a city park or along an urban river trail. Linger in a pocket park with leafy trees above. Walk, bike or drive through a neighborhood whose overarching tree canopy filters sunlight into playful, shifting patterns. Take a deep breath. You are enjoying the urban forest, the trees in metropolitan, suburban, or ex-urban areas, along highways, in cemeteries, parking lots, public and private woodlands, and along urban water corridors. The urban forest is part of the urban infrastructure and contributes to any community’s economic and ecological sustainability. Trees in urban areas clean the air and water and reduce the amount of energy we use. As green multi-purpose tools they contribute to economic and environmental health in so many ways it is surprising every city is not actively seeking ways to use them. Yet in all the scenarios, solutions and dollars that are spent on mitigating economic and environmental woes, trees figure too seldom. Many community environmental and economic problems can able to offer their full measure of ecological and economic benefits. Core Question How can urban forests contribute to community sustainability? Trees clean the air Over 113 million Americans live in cities with polluted air. Vehicles on roads and highways and in parking lots produce one-third to one-half of the smog (ozone, nitrogen dioxide and small particulates) in most metro areas. Smog triggers asthma attacks and research from the University of Southern California has shown that it may actually cause asthma. A study in 2002 found that healthy children with prolonged exposure to smog developed new cases of asthma. Those that were most active out-of-doors were three times more likely to develop asthma than those that played indoors. Asthma is expensive. According to the Center for Disease Control, one in 20 Americans suffer from it, resulting in 1.5 million emergency room visits, 500,000 hospitalizations, and over 5,500 deaths annually. Moreover, asthma is increasing for all age, sex and racial groups. Working conclusions • Mature trees clean the air and water, reducing air pollution and stormwater costs. • Locate and plant trees where they will have the most impact on energy conservation, air and water quality, and attracting economic activity. • Urban trees attract the retail, business, industrial and residential sectors. They provide a sense of community and sense of place that businesses consider when relocating or establishing. • Engage all stakeholders in the current and future sustainability of a community in planning for the future of the urban forest. Create partnerships and make long range plans to ensure growth and protection of existing trees. • Woodlot parcels clean more air and water than individual trees along the street and provide a greater economic contribution. Support legislation to conserve and protect wooded parcels for economic and ecological sustainability. • 85% of the urban forest is on private property. Promote the value and importance of the urban forest and encourage private landowners to protect wooded parcels. • Correctly select, plant and maintain trees to grow to maturity so they contribute maximum benefits. Cities that are going green most effectively either have tree preservation/ conservation ordinances for public and private lands, or are looking at them. be addressed by trees. While not the total solution, they can be significant players. Joe Wright, Mayor of Beech Grove, Indiana, sees trees as an essential component of the overall plan for his city: “Our trees… are a sustaining element of not only the greening and aesthetic value of our community, but our urban forestry program strongly relates to our three community goals. Trees enhance citizens’ quality of life, increase citizens’ personal wealth by serving as an economic development tool in showing the environmental health of our City to attract residents and new businesses, and finally, trees are effective in promoting community pride and ownership.” Wright, whose city received the Municipality of the Year award from the Indiana Urban Forest Council, added, “A healthy, vibrant community has a healthy and vibrant urban forest.” A healthy urban forest includes trees of all ages and of diverse species. Ideally, it is maintained so as to allow the trees to live to their normal life span as much as possible. In that way, trees of all ages will be February/March 2009 Trees help. Trees clean the air by collecting particulate matter, and through shade and reduced temperatures they reduce smog formation. Large trees do more Large, mature, healthy trees provide more benefit than newly planted trees. Newly planted trees are very important to ensure that the urban forest continues to thrive, and to ensure that when trees die or are removed there are others to take their place. However, a newly planted tree does not truly begin offering ecological services until it has been in the ground and established for 7 to 10 years. Given that reality, there’s a strong case for cities and towns to preserve and conserve large trees and woodland tracts. Cities that are going green most effectively either have tree preservation/conservation ordinances for public and private lands, or are looking at them. Urban forestry consultants stress this concept as they work with developers and cities to protect trees during construction projects. “Taking sustainabil- Community sustainability challenge • Create and enforce tree conservation and protection ordinances for public and private property. • Consider utilizing woodland management techniques for publicly owned parcels. • Plant new trees and protect existing trees where they will make the most significant contribution environmentally and financially. 19 http://www.californialung.org/media-center/publications/lung-health-news/recent-study-shows-smog-may-cause-asthma http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/aag05.htm http://www.CitiesGoGreen.com
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