As urban populations increase, the presence of well-maintained trees provide a cost-effective solution to combat the effects of climate change, specifically the urban heat island effect. Unfortunately, the associated ecological, social and economic benefits of trees are not distributed equitably in the landscape due to lingering effects of redlining policies....
The Treasure Valley (TV) of Idaho is an arid valley in the southwest portion of the state that contains the state’s largest city, Boise and surrounding metropolitan area. A regional Urban Tree Canopy (UTC) Assessment was performed for the TV in 2013. This assessment documented 10% UTC for the Treasure...
The City of Bend’s current urban forest management strategy consists of a series of city codes and ordinances, tree protection and planting standards, and two different plans created by the Bend Park and Recreation District. The analysis of these documents, as well as review of existing management approaches in Boise,...
Urban parks are biodiversity hotspots within cities and have the potential to provide a range of socio-cultural benefits for people, but may not always meet the needs and desires of park visitors. A variety of land use practices and environmental factors affect urban park biodiversity and vegetation structure, composition, and...
Three trends are occurring today in the United States which inspired this research. First, America is growing increasingly urbanized. Today, more Americans are living in cities than in rural environments, and this pattern is predicted to continue for the foreseeable future. Urban living has benefits, but there are also challenges...
The woodlands of New York City's Central Park have seen varying levels of management and neglect since the creation of the park over 150 years ago. The Central Park Conservancy has aimed to restore, enhance, and elevate the stewardship of the park, including its woodlands and other Natural Areas, since...
Urban forests are an essential green infrastructure of our cities. Due to the proximity of urban trees to more than 250 million people and the grey infrastructure within United States cities, urban forests are uniquely positioned to provide a host of social, environmental and economic benefits. Careful management that maximizes...
Natural resources fields have historically been male-dominated, especially in terms of leadership. Forestry, and more specifically urban forestry, has displayed growth and development as women are being encouraged to enter the field and pursue goals of becoming leaders. One strategy for encouraging women leaders has been offering professional development opportunities....
Tree equity is a quickly growing subsection of the urban forestry, environmental justice, urban planning, and broad natural resources fields. This concern surrounds whether or not trees have been historically planted and maintained equitably across different regions within a metropolitan area. The significance of urban trees is only now being...
Urban landscape water use is increasingly a focus of water conservation efforts. This is especially true in the arid and semi-arid regions of the western United States where increased demand, environmental concerns, and extended periods of drought have created chronic water shortages. However, until recently, little attention has been paid...