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作者

Theodore S. Eisenman;Tamsin Flanders;Richard W. Harper;Richard J. Hauer;Katherine Lieberknecht

来源

URBAN FORESTRY & URBAN GREENING,Vol.61,Issue1,Article 127006

语言

英文

关键字

Environmental humanities;Green infrastructure;Landscape planning;Urban affairs;Urban ecology;Urban forestry;Urban greening

作者单位

University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, Address: 551 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA, 01003-2901, USA;University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Department of Environmental Conservation, Address: 160 Holdsworth Way, Amherst, MA, 01003-9285, USA;University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, College of Natural Resources, Address: 800 REserve Street, Stevens Point, WI, 54481-3897, USA;University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture, Address: 310 Inner Campus Drive B7500, Austin, TX, 78712-1009, USA;University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, Address: 551 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA, 01003-2901, USA;University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Department of Environmental Conservation, Address: 160 Holdsworth Way, Amherst, MA, 01003-9285, USA;University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, College of Natural Resources, Address: 800 REserve Street, Stevens Point, WI, 54481-3897, USA;University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture, Address: 310 Inner Campus Drive B7500, Austin, TX, 78712-1009, USA

摘要

Municipal leaders worldwide are showing substantial interest in urban greening. This encompasses incentives, policies, and programs to vegetate urban landscapes, and it often includes urban tree planting initiatives (TPIs). Over the past decade there has been a seven-fold increase in scholarly use of terms denoting TPIs, and roughly two-thirds of associated studies address TPIs in the United States (U.S.). This reflects a bloom of scholarly interest in TPIs. Yet, there has been limited research on contemporary TPIs as historically situated cultural phenomena, and there has to the best of our knowledge been no nationwide survey of TPIs across municipal scales. Addressing these gaps, this article presents findings from a survey of 41 TPIs in the United States. We report on typical traits of U.S. TPIs across six themes: background, dates and goals, public awareness, funding and governance, planting, and stewardship. Respondents identified over 115 traits that distinguish TPIs from typical urban tree planting activity, suggesting that TPIs are a discrete form of urban forestry. Over two-thirds of TPIs are funded separate from traditional urban forestry, and lack of institutionalization raises questions about long-term viability. TPIs mobilize political and financial resources for program launch, tree purchasing, and planting, but there may be a need for greater investment in stewardship activities and the social infrastructure that undergirds green infrastructure. Large shade trees for ecosystem services and native trees are the principal factors informing TPI species lists. Beautification and regulating ecosystem functions are, in turn, the principal potential benefits animating tree planting goals, yet few TPIs have conducted research to assess the fulfillment of associated outcomes. This study provides a foundation for future interdisciplinary scholarship on TPIs across the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences.