What is an urban forest?

  1. Escobedo, F. J., Kroeger, T., & Wagner, J. E. (2011). Urban forests and pollution mitigation: analyzing ecosystem services and disservices. Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex: 1987), 159(8–9), 2078–2087.
  2. Konijnendijk, C. C., Ricard, R. M., Kenney, A., & Randrup, T. B. (2006). Defining urban forestry – A comparative perspective of North America and Europe. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 4(3–4), 93–103.
  3. Konijnendijk van den Bosch, C. C., Ferrini, F., Fini, A., Ferrini, F., & Fini, A. (2017). Introduction. In Routledge Handbook of Urban Forestry.
  4. Lafortezza, R., Pauleit, S., Hansen, R., Sanesi, G., & Davies, C. (2017). Strategic Green Infrastructure Planning and Urban Forestry. In Francesco Ferrini, Cecil C. Konijnendijk van den Bosch, & Alessio Fini (Eds.). Routledge Handbook of Urban Forestry. (pp. 179-193). London, UK and New York, NY.
  5. Miller, R. W., Hauer, R. J., & Werner, L. P. (2015). Urban forestry: planning and managing urban greenspaces. Waveland Press, Illinois.

What challenges do urban forests face?

  1. Escobedo, F. J., Kroeger, T., & Wagner, J. E. (2011). Urban forests and pollution mitigation: analyzing ecosystem services and disservices. Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex: 1987), 159(8–9), 2078–2087.
  2. Hewitt, C. N., Ashworth, K., & MacKenzie, A. R. (2020). Using green infrastructure to improve urban air quality (GI4AQ). Ambio, 49(1), 62–73.
  3. Konijnendijk van den Bosch, C. C., Ferrini, F., Fini, A., Ferrini, F., & Fini, A. (2017). Introduction. In Routledge Handbook of Urban Forestry.

Why do urban forests matter?

  1. Anguelovski, I., Connolly, J. J. T., Pearsall, H., Shokry, G., Checker, M., Maantay, J., Gould, K., Lewis, T., Maroko, A., & Roberts, J. T. (2019). Opinion: Why green “climate gentrification” threatens poor and vulnerable populations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(52), 26139–26143.
  2. Braubach, M., Egorov, A., Mudu, P., Wolf, T., Ward Thompson, C., & Martuzzi, M. (2017). Effects of Urban Green Space on Environmental Health, Equity and Resilience. In N. Kabisch, H. Korn, J. Stadler, & A. Bonn (Eds.), Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change Adaptation in Urban Areas: Linkages between Science, Policy and Practice (pp. 187–205). Springer International Publishing.
  3. Daily, G. C. (Ed.). (1997). Nature’s services: societal dependence on natural ecosystems. Washington, DC: Island Press.
  4. Escobedo, F. J., Kroeger, T., & Wagner, J. E. (2011). Urban forests and pollution mitigation: analyzing ecosystem services and disservices. Environmental Pollution, 159(8–9), 2078–2087.
  5. Karjalainen, E., Sarjala, T., & Raitio, H. (2010). Promoting human health through forests: Overview and major challenges. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 15(1), 1–8.
  6. Konijnendijk, C.C., & Gauthier, M. (2006) Urban Forestry for Multifunctional Urban Land Use, in Cities Farming for the Future: Agriculture for Green and Productive Cities, pp. 414-416. Retrieved from:
  7. Kowalski, J. M., & Conway, T. M. (2018). Branching out: The inclusion of urban food trees in Canadian urban forest management plans. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening.
  8. Kuehler, E., Hathaway, J., & Tirpak, A. (2017). Quantifying the benefits of urban forest systems as a component of the green infrastructure stormwater treatment network: Quantifying the Benefits of Urban Forest Systems as Green Infrastructure. Ecohydrology, 10(3), e1813.
  9. Kumar, P., Druckman, A., Gallagher, J., Gatersleben, B., Allison, S., Eisenman, T. S., Hoang, U., Hama, S., Tiwari, A., Sharma, A., Abhijith, K. V., Adlakha, D., McNabola, A., Astell-Burt, T., Feng, X., Skeldon, A. C., de Lusignan, S., & Morawska, L. (2019). The nexus between air pollution, green infrastructure and human health. Environment International, 133, 105181.
  10. Lai, D., Liu, W., Gan, T., Liu, K., & Chen, Q. (2019). A review of mitigating strategies to improve the thermal environment and thermal comfort in urban outdoor spaces. Science of the Total Environment, 661, 337–353.
  11. Mok, J.-H., Landphair, H. C., & Naderi, J. R. (2006). Landscape improvement impacts on roadside safety in Texas. Landscape and Urban Planning, 78(3), 263–274.
  12. Nowak, D. J., & Dwyer, J. F. (2007). Understanding the Benefits and Costs of Urban Forest Ecosystems. In J. E. Kuser (Ed.), Urban and Community Forestry in the Northeast (pp. 25–46). Springer Netherlands.
  13. Nowak, D. J., Stevens, J. C., Sisinni, S. M., & Luley, C. J. (2002). Effects of urban tree management and species selection on atmospheric carbon dioxide. Journal of Arboriculture, 28(3).
  14. Salbitano, F., Borelli, S., and Sanesi, G. (2015). Urban forestry and agroforestry. In Zeeuw, H. de, & Drechsel, P. (Eds.). Cities and agriculture: developing resilient urban food systems. London; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
  15. Sanesi, G., Gallis, C., & Kasperidus, H. D. (2011). Urban Forests and Their Ecosystem Services in Relation to Human Health. In K. Nilsson, M. Sangster, C. Gallis, T. Hartig, S. de Vries, K. Seeland, & J. Schipperijn (Eds.), Forests, Trees and Human Health (pp. 23–40). Springer Netherlands.
  16. Sicard, P., Agathokleous, E., Araminiene, V., Carrari, E., Hoshika, Y., De Marco, A., & Paoletti, E. (2018). Should we see urban trees as effective solutions to reduce increasing ozone levels in cities? Environmental Pollution, 243, 163–176.
  17. Wang, Y., Bakker, F., De Groot, R., & Wörtche, H. (2014). Effect of ecosystem services provided by urban green infrastructure on indoor environment: A literature review. Building and Environment, 77, 88–100.
  18. Weinstein, N., Balmford, A., DeHaan, C. R., Gladwell, V., Bradbury, R., & Amano, T. (2015). Seeing Community for the Trees: Links Between Contact with Natural Environments, Community Cohesion, and Crime. BioScience, 65 1141-1153.
  19. Whitburn, J., Linklater, W. L., & Milfont, T. L. (2019). Exposure to Urban Nature and Tree Planting Are Related to Pro-Environmental Behavior via Connection to Nature, the Use of Nature for Psychological Restoration, and Environmental Attitudes. Environment and Behavior, 51(7), 787–810.
  20. Wolf, K. L., & Robbins, A. S. T. (2015). Metro Nature, Environmental Health, and Economic Value. Environmental Health Perspectives, 123(5), 390–398.
  21. Wolf, K.L. (2006). Roadside Urban Trees: Balancing Safety and Community Values. Arborist News, 15, 6:56-58.
  22. Wolf, K.L. (2017). Social Aspects of Urban Forestry and Metro Nature (pp. 65-81). In: Ferrini, F., C.C. Konijnendijk van den Bosch & Alessio Fini (eds.) Routledge Handbook of Urban Forestry. Routledge: New York.
  23. Wolf, K.L. (2010). Safe Streets – A Literature Review. In: Green Cities: Good Health (www.greenhealth.washington.edu). College of the Environment, University of Washington.

Consider Context

  1. Carter, E. J. (1995). The potential of urban forestry in developing countries: A concept paper. FAO.
  2. Nesbitt, L., Meitner, M. J., Sheppard, S. R. J., & Girling, C. (2018). The dimensions of urban green equity: A framework for analysis. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 34, 240–248.

Multiple Stakeholders, Multiple Scales

  1. Carter, E. J. (1995). The potential of urban forestry in developing countries: A concept paper. FAO.
  2. Dobbs, C., Escobedo, F. J., & Zipperer, W. C. (2011). A framework for developing urban forest ecosystem services and goods indicators. Landscape and Urban Planning, 99(3–4), 196–206.
  3. Salbitano, F., Borelli, S., Conigliaro, M., & Chen, Y. (2016). Guidelines on urban and peri-urban forestry, FAO, Rome, Italy.
  4. Schwab, J. C. (Ed.). (2009). Planning for Urban Forests (No. PAS 555; pp. 1–164), American Planning Association.

Introduction to Policy for Urban Forests

  1. Chan, F. K. S., Griffiths, J. A., Higgitt, D., Xu, S., Zhu, F., Tang, Y.-T., Xu, Y., & Thorne, C. R. (2018). “Sponge City” in China—A breakthrough of planning and flood risk management in the urban context. Land Use Policy, 76, 772–778.
  2. City of Amsterdam. (n.d.) “Policy: Green Space.” (Summarizes info from actual plan, which is in Dutch)
  3. Republic of Rwanda. (2018). Rwanda National Forestry Policy 2018. Ministry of Lands and Forestry.
  4. Salbitano, F., Borelli, S., Conigliaro, M., & Chen, Y. (2016). Guidelines on urban and peri-urban forestry, FAO, Rome, Italy.

Public Space Interventions

  1. Ashden. (2019). “Alcaldía de Medellín / Growing a cooler city,” Ashden Winners.
  2. McPherson, E. G. (1994). Cooling urban heat islands with sustainable landscapes. In: Platt, Rutherford H.; Rowntree, Rowan A.; Muick, Pamela C.; Eds. The Ecological City: Preserving and Restoring Urban Biodiversity. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press: 151-171, 151–171.
  3. Nowak, D. J., Crane, D. E., & Stevens, J. C. (2006). Air pollution removal by urban trees and shrubs in the United States. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 4(3–4), 115–123.
  4. Seskin, S. (2013). Complete Streets: Local Policy Workbook, Smart Growth America.
  5. Wolf, Kathleen L. (2006). Urban trees and traffic safety: considering the U.S. roadside policy and crash data. Arboriculture and Urban Forestry. 32(4): 170-179.
  6. WRI. (2015). Cities safer by design: Guidance and examples to promote traffic safety through urban and street design: Version 1.0. Washington, D. C.: World Resources Institute.
  7. WRI Ciudades Pocket Parks Guide

Case Study: Greening Kuala Lumpur

  1. Ismail, S. M., Idrus, S., Hadi, A. S., Rahman, A. A., Zainal, N., Azam, N. D. S. M., & Shaharudin, N. (2018). Going for Green Cities: The Role of Urban and Peri-Urban Forestry in Creating the Ambiance of the Liveable City in Malaysia. In W. Leal Filho (Ed.), Handbook of Sustainability Science and Research (pp. 401–417). Springer International Publishing.
  2. Kanniah, K. D. (2017). Quantifying green cover change for sustainable urban planning: A case of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 27, 287–304.
  3. Zaki, S. A., Toh, H. J., Yakub, F., Mohd Saudi, A. S., Ardila-Rey, J. A., & Muhammad-Sukki, F. (2020). Effects of Roadside Trees and Road Orientation on Thermal Environment in a Tropical City. Sustainability, 12(3), 1053.

Introduction to Planning for Urban

  1. City of Addis Ababa. (2017). Addis Ababa City Structure Plan, Draft Final Summary Report (2017-2027).
  2. Elmendorf, W. F. (2007). Using Comprehensive Planning to Conserve the Natural Environment. In J. E. Kuser (Ed.), Urban and Community Forestry in the Northeast (pp. 79–98).
  3. Schwab, J. C. (Ed.). (2009). Planning for Urban Forests (No. PAS 555; pp. 1–164), American Planning Association.
  4. Wenfa Xiao, Report on the COFO 23 Side Panel “Urban Forests for Sustainable Cities” panel, FAO. (2016, July 20). “Report: COFO Side Event on ‘Urban Forests for Sustainable Cities,’” Committee on Forestry Session 23: FAO, Rome, Italy.

Comprehensive and Strategic Plans

  1. City of Vancouver (2015). Greenest City 2020 Action Plan Part Two: 2015-2020.

Urban Forest Management

  1. California Urban Forest Council. (2018). “Urban Forest Management Plan Toolkit.”
  2. City of San Francisco. (2014). Urban Forest Plan. San Francisco Planning.
  3. Gibbons, K. H., & Ryan, C. M. (2015). Characterizing comprehensiveness of urban forest management plans in Washington State. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 14(3), 615–624.
  4. Ordóñez, C., & Duinker, P. N. (2013). An analysis of urban forest management plans in Canada: Implications for urban forest management. Landscape and Urban Planning, 116, 36–47.
  5. San Francisco Public Works (SF PW). (1 July 2017). “San Francisco Launches New Voter-Backed Tree Maintenance Program.” [Press release].
  6. Sheppard, S. R. J., Konjinendijk van den Bosch, C. C., Croy, O., Macias, A., & Barron, S. (2017). Urban Forest Governance and Community Engagement. In Francesco Ferrini, Cecil C. Konijnendijk van den Bosch, & Alessio Fini (Eds.). Routledge Handbook of Urban Forestry. (pp. 205-221). Routledge, London, UK and New York, NY.

Case Study: Greening for Resilience in Melbourne, Australia

  1. City of Melbourne (2011). “Urban Forest Diversity Guidelines: 2011 Tree Species Selection Guidelines for the City of Melbourne,” City of Melbourne.
  2. City of Melbourne (2014). “Urban Forest Strategy: Making a Great City Greener, 2012-2032,” City of Melbourne.

Introduction to Regulations for Urban Forests

  1. DDOT. (n.d.). “Tree Regulations.” District Department of Transportation.
  2. Jim, C. Y. (2005). Monitoring the performance and decline of heritage trees in urban Hong Kong. Journal of Environmental Management,74(2), 161–172.
  3. O’Brien, L., De Vreese, R., Kern, M., Sievänen, T., Stojanova, B., & Atmi?, E. (2017). Cultural ecosystem benefits of urban and peri-urban green infrastructure across different European countries. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 24, 236–248.

Zoning

  1. City of Chicago. (2000). Guide to the Chicago Landscape Ordinance.
  2. Elmendorf, W. F. (2007). Using Comprehensive Planning to Conserve the Natural Environment. In J. E. Kuser (Ed.), Urban and Community Forestry in the Northeast (pp. 79–98).
  3. Miller, R. W., Hauer, R. J., & Werner, L. P. (2015). Urban forestry: planning and managing urban greenspaces. Waveland Press, Illinois
  4. Murray, S. (1997). Urban and peri-urban forestry in Quito, Ecuador: a case study. FAO. Rome, Italy.

Institutional Arrangements Part I

  1. Beckley, T. M., Parkins, J. R., & Sheppard, S. (2006). Public participation in sustainable forest management: a reference guide. Sustainable Forest Management Network, Edmonton, Alberta, 55 pp.
  2. Nesbitt, L., Meitner, M. J., Sheppard, S. R. J., & Girling, C. (2018). The dimensions of urban green equity: A framework for analysis. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 34, 240–248.
  3. Sheppard, S. R. J., Konjinendijk van den Bosch, C. C., Croy, O., Macias, A., & Barron, S. (2017). Urban Forest Governance and Community Engagement. In Francesco Ferrini, Cecil C. Konijnendijk van den Bosch, & Alessio Fini (Eds.). Routledge Handbook of Urban Forestry. (pp. 205-221). Routledge, London, UK and New York, NY.

Institutional Arrangements Part II

  1. Casey Trees. (n.d.) “Citizen Science,” Casey Trees.
  2. Escobedo, F. J., Nowak, D. J., Wagner, J. E., Maza, C. L. D. la, Rodríguez, M., Crane, D. E., … Ndez, J. (2006). The socioeconomics and management of Santiago de Chile’s public urban forests.
  3. Johannesburg City Parks. (n.d.). “Maintaining Joburg’s green crown.”
  4. Knuth, L. (2005). Legal and institutional aspects of urban and peri-urban forestry and greening. [Report] FAO, Rome, Italy.
  5. Nesbitt, L., Meitner, M. J., Sheppard, S. R. J., & Girling, C. (2018). The dimensions of urban green equity: A framework for analysis. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 34, 240–248.
  6. Sheppard, S. R. J., Konjinendijk van den Bosch, C. C., Croy, O., Macias, A., & Barron, S. (2017). Urban Forest Governance and Community Engagement. In Francesco Ferrini, Cecil C. Konijnendijk van den Bosch, & Alessio Fini (Eds.). Routledge Handbook of Urban Forestry. (pp. 205-221). Routledge, London, UK and New York, NY.

Case Study: Evolving Urban Forest Management in Seattle, WA, USA

  1. City of Seattle. (2013). “2013 Urban Forest Stewardship Plan,” City of Seattle.
  2. City of Seattle. (2019). “Urban Forest Management: Findings from an Initial Assessment,” City of Seattle. Retrieved from:
  3. Davey Resource Group, Inc. (2019). “Findings from Initial Assessment,” City of Seattle Urban Forest Management.
  4. Trees for Seattle (2020). “Management,” City of Seattle. Retrieved from:

Funding and Valuation

  1. Cilliers, S., Cilliers, J., Lubbe, R., & Siebert, S. (2013). Ecosystem services of urban green spaces in African countries—Perspectives and challenges. Urban Ecosystems, 16(4), 681–702.
  2. Elmendorf, W. (2016) “Sustaining and Funding an Urban Forestry Program,” Penn State Extension.
  3. Haase, D., Larondelle, N., Andersson, E., Artmann, M., Borgström, S., Breuste, J., Gomez-Baggethun, E., Gren, AAsa, Hamstead, Z., & Hansen, R. (2014). A quantitative review of urban ecosystem service assessments: Concepts, models, and implementation. Ambio, 43(4), 413–433.
  4. Knuth, L. (2005). Legal and institutional aspects of urban and peri-urban forestry and greening. FAO, Rome, Italy.
  5. McDonald, R., Aljabar, L., Aubuchon, C., Birnbaum, H.G., Chandler, C., Toomey, B., Daley, J., Jimenez, W., Trieschman, E., Paque, J., & Zeiper, M. (2017) “Funding Trees for Health,” The Nature Conservancy.
  6. Nowak, D. J., Greenfield, E. J., & Ash, R. M. (2019). Annual biomass loss and potential value of urban tree waste in the United States. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 46, 126469.
  7. Salbitano, F., Borelli, S., Conigliaro, M., & Chen, Y. (2016). Guidelines on urban and peri-urban forestry, FAO, Rome, Italy.
  8. Vibrant Cities Lab (n.d.) “Step 16: Funding,” Urban Forestry Toolkit.
  9. Willis, K. J., & Petrokofsky, G. (2017). The natural capital of city trees. Science, 356(6336), 374–376.
  10. Young, R. F. (2011). Planting the Living City: Best Practices in Planning Green Infrastructure—Results from Major U.S. Cities. Journal of the American Planning Association, 77(4), 368–381.

Case Study: Expanding Urban Forests in Curitiba, Brazil

  1. (Portuguese) Curitiba City Hall. (2016). “Afforestation plan has placed 139,000 trees in Curitiba since 2013.”

Challenges

  1. Abhijith, K. V., Kumar, P., Gallagher, J., McNabola, A., Baldauf, R., Pilla, F., Broderick, B., Di Sabatino, S., & Pulvirenti, B. (2017). Air pollution abatement performances of green infrastructure in open road and built-up street canyon environments–A review. Atmospheric Environment, 162, 71–86.
  2. Anguelovski, I., Connolly, J. J. T., Pearsall, H., Shokry, G., Checker, M., Maantay, J., Gould, K., Lewis, T., Maroko, A., & Roberts, J. T. (2019). Opinion: Why green “climate gentrification” threatens poor and vulnerable populations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(52), 26139–26143.
  3. Cariñanos, P., & Casares-Porcel, M. (2011). Urban green zones and related pollen allergy: A review. Some guidelines for designing spaces with low allergy impact. Landscape and Urban Planning, 101(3), 205–214.
  4. Eisenman, T. S., Churkina, G., Jariwala, S. P., Kumar, P., Lovasi, G. S., Pataki, D. E., … Whitlow, T. H. (2019). Urban trees, air quality, and asthma: An interdisciplinary review. Landscape and Urban Planning, 187, 47–59.
  5. FAO. (2014). “Main challenges to UPF,” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
  6. Jansson, M., Fors, H., Lindgren, T., & Wistrom, B. (2013). Perceived personal safety in relation to urban woodland vegetation—A review. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 12(2), 127–133.
  7. Karjalainen, E., Sarjala, T., & Raitio, H. (2010). Promoting human health through forests: Overview and major challenges. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 15(1), 1–8.
  8. Kumar, P., Druckman, A., Gallagher, J., Gatersleben, B., Allison, S., Eisenman, T. S., Hoang, U., Hama, S., Tiwari, A., Sharma, A., Abhijith, K. V., Adlakha, D., McNabola, A., Astell-Burt, T., Feng, X., Skeldon, A. C., de Lusignan, S., & Morawska, L. (2019). The nexus between air pollution, green infrastructure and human health. Environment International, 133, 105181.
  9. Lõhmus, M., & Balbus, J. (2015). Making green infrastructure healthier infrastructure. Infection Ecology & Epidemiology, 5(1), 30082.
  10. Nesbitt, L., Meitner, M. J., Sheppard, S. R. J., & Girling, C. (2018). The dimensions of urban green equity: A framework for analysis. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 34, 240–248.
  11. Randrup, T. B., McPherson, E. G., & Costello, L. R. (2001). A review of tree root conflicts with sidewalks, curbs, and roads. Urban Ecosystems, 5(3), 209–225.
  12. Salbitano, F., Borelli, S., Conigliaro, M., & Chen, Y. (2016). Guidelines on urban and peri-urban forestry, FAO, Rome, Italy.
  13. Wolch, J. R., Byrne, J., & Newell, J. P. (2014). Urban green space, public health, and environmental justice: The challenge of making cities “just green enough.” Landscape and Urban Planning, 125, 234–244.
  14. Wolf, K.L. (2017). Social Aspects of Urban Forestry and Metro Nature (pp. 65-81). In: Ferrini, F., C.C. Konijnendijk van den Bosch & Alessio Fini (eds.) Routledge Handbook of Urban Forestry. Routledge: New York.

Gaps in Knowledge

  1. Dobbs, C., Escobedo, F. J., & Zipperer, W. C. (2011). A framework for developing urban forest ecosystem services and goods indicators. Landscape and Urban Planning, 99(3–4), 196–206.
  2. Nesbitt, L., Meitner, M. J., Sheppard, S. R. J., & Girling, C. (2018). The dimensions of urban green equity: A framework for analysis. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 34, 240–248.
  3. Ordóñez, C., & Duinker, P. N. (2013). An analysis of urban forest management plans in Canada: Implications for urban forest management. Landscape and Urban Planning, 116, 36–47.
  4. Roy, S., Byrne, J., & Pickering, C. (2012). A systematic quantitative review of urban tree benefits, costs, and assessment methods across cities in different climatic zones. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 11(4), 351–363.
  5. Berland, A., Shiflett, S. A., Shuster, W. D., Garmestani, A. S., Goddard, H. C., Herrmann, D. L., & Hopton, M. E. (2017). The role of trees in urban stormwater management. Landscape and Urban Planning, 162, 167–177.