Canopy Cities: Protecting Urban Forests, Landscapes and Ecosystems

Dear Colleagues,

Cities today face a host of challenges, many involving climate change, such as urban heat, wildfires, flooding, and other examples of extreme weather. Investing in trees and forests, and urban ecosystems generally, represents one of the most cost-effective and essential responses to these challenges, especially to rising urban heat. Trees and forests, the growing evidence shows, provide remarkable benefits: they cool and shade cities, they retain and manage stormwater, they capture and filter air pollutants, and they provide a large number of habitats for birds and other animals. They also provide an element of beauty to urban life, and the health benefits (physical but especially mentally) are vast. Trees and forests are an important partial antidote to the stresses and mental challenges of living in cities. 

But many cities around the world are losing trees and forests and suffering the degradation of urban ecosystems at precisely the time that they need them the most. The threats are many and include road and highway buildings, the loss of trees for housing and urban development, and the gradual loss of trees in existing urban neighborhoods. In some cases, there are unfortunate tradeoffs between protecting trees and forests and other valid local goals, for instance the desire to expand and improve sidewalks and to provide safe environments for walking and recreation (though, usually, these goals are complementary, and it can be argued that these conflicts are needless).

Many urban trees and forests are also succumbing to drought, wildfires, and the many other stressors of a changing climate. To ensure that trees and forests survive in the face of drought, storms, and other severe weather, the expansion of pests and invasive species, among others, will take place, an important issue that canopy cities must face.

Equally important are the justice and equity dimensions of urban trees and forests. In many cities, the distribution of trees and forest canopy is deeply unjust and unequal: poorer neighborhoods and neighborhoods of color often have fewer trees and much lower canopy levels, in turn subjecting these residents to higher levels of urban heat, higher levels of air pollution, and generally a lower quality of life. Tree equity has become an important and urgent goal in many cities.

The vision of canopy cities then understands trees and forests, and urban ecosystems generally, as essential elements of urban life. Canopy cities prioritize the protection and expansion of trees and forests and recognize the need to have trees and nature nearby and indeed all around us where we live. Trees and urban development are not antithetical to urban life but absolutely essential. This Special Issue hopes to discover and uncover new and exciting experiences and efforts around the world to protect existing trees and forests and to expand them and allow them to further. Canopy cities also recognize the need to engage and involve the public, to cultivate love and care for trees, and to reach a fair condition where all residents and all neighborhoods in the city experience trees and forests.

Some of the more specific potential topics for this Special Issue include the following:

–Creative tools, strategies, and decisions to protect trees and forests and urban ecosystems more generally in cities;
–New and creative ways to value trees and forests and urban ecosystems and to attach monetary and other important community values to them;
–Research about how urban trees and forests are being used and how residents perceive their value;
–Analysis of urban tree-planting programs (e.g., million tree programs) and an evaluation of the effectiveness of and lessons learnt from urban tree-planting efforts;
–Studies of the cultural significance and social importance of trees and forests;
–Historical papers that describe a specific historical event, period, or story that helps to inspire or guide current policy around urban trees and forests;
–Management of trees and forests, and urban ecosystems, by indigenous peoples;
–The politics of urban tree and canopy protection, including discussion and analysis of stakeholders and their different views and perspectives on trees and forests;
–City strategies aimed at achieving tree equity and distributions of trees and forest canopies, as well as studies evaluating the success of these tree equity efforts;
–Theoretical papers that explore and demonstrate the value of a conservation tool or idea or concept that may not yet be in practice;
–Case studies of urban development that show how trees, forests, and urban ecosystems can be protected at the same time that urban growth occurs;
–Case studies of cities that have stopped or redesigned road, highway, or other infrastructure projects to protect trees and forests;
–Case studies and in-depth analyses of specific cities that illustrate high tree canopy cover and effective tree and forest protection;
–Alternative metrics for measuring and tracking urban trees and forests; technical papers that discuss the different ways that “canopy” might be defined or measured;
–Examples of how trees and forests have been successfully integrated with affordable housing;
–Innovative urban tools for the protection of trees, forests, and urban ecosystems;
–Analysis of global trends in urban tree and forest loss and the loss of other urban ecosystems;
–Insights and studies into the science of trees and forests that can inform urban tree management and conservation;
–Importance and value of trees and urban ecosystems in the vision of a city (e.g., “city in a forest”, “wetland city);
–Creative responses to addressing the urban–wildfire interface, with emphasis on forest conservation;
–How the 3–30–300 rule has been applied in cities;
–Analysis of how and where Miyawaki tiny-forests have been planted in cities; an evaluation of tiny-forests and their environmental and social impacts;
–Tree and forest protection efforts and programs, especially in cities in the Global South;
–Case studies and research on tree planting and tree protection connected with schools and other institutional settings.

Further ideas for possible articles might be found by consulting: Timothy Beatley, Canopy Cities: Expanding and Protecting Urban Forests, Routledge, 2023.

Prof. Dr. Timothy Beatley
Guest Editor

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• canopy cities
• urban forests
• urban ecosystems
• urban landscapes
• climate change