Planting trees in cities isn’t a “silver bullet” for climate change, but urban forestry can still do a lot of good for a lot of people. Photo courtesy of Kimberley Zak (@KimZakPhoto on Instagram)
What do you think of when you picture a forest? Dense canopies and lush understories teeming with an array of wildlife come to mind. I imagine the depths of the Amazon rainforest or the heights of California’s redwood trees.
Modern cities, with their sprawling suburbs and growing populations, are the antithesis of this romantic image of the forest. But cities are home to trees too, and these urban forests are just as important as their wild counterparts.
Urban forestry refers to the sustainable management, conservation, and restoration of trees in cities. It can include anything from planting new trees to protecting old ones. Just as traditional forests benefit society by storing carbon and supporting biodiversity, urban forestry provides a myriad of benefits to city communities.
Today, urban areas and the people who live in them are faced with intersecting environmental hazards: climate change, extreme heat, natural disasters, and biodiversity loss. Systemic racism perpetuated by redlining and segregation has concentrated these environmental impacts in low-income communities of color and created ongoing cases of environmental injustice.
Urban forestry can help address these intertwined environmental issues, and bring other benefits to people and communities. Urban forests sequester 25.6 million tons of CO2 every year–that’s equivalent to taking 5.5 million cars off the road. Their canopies provide shade that counters rising temperatures from the urban heat island effect. Trees can dampen the impact and aftermath of storms, reduce the amount of pollution in the air, and provide habitat for local wildlife. Beyond creating more sustainable cities, urban forestry is a promising strategy for achieving environmental justice by improving environmental quality in marginalized neighborhoods.
Though tree planting and conservation are valuable tools in the fight against climate change and environmental injustice, they aren’t a silver bullet. Our first priority must be to stop burning fossil fuels. Planting trees can’t be a free pass to keep on destroying the planet.
As with any solution, communities must contend with trade-offs that come with urban forestry. Tree planting requires time, money, and natural resources for growing and establishing seedlings. Efforts to create or restore green spaces can also lead to green gentrification, undermining the social justice goals of urban forestry.
It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the never-ending surge of environmental challenges. Urban forestry is a bright spot in the constant barrage of bad news and is a solution worth further exploration. In this beat, I will explore what urban forestry looks like in cities across America and how the practice can benefit people, communities, and the environment.