Why don’t people plant trees? Uncovering barriers to participation in urban tree planting initiatives

Riedman, Elizabeth; Roman, Lara A.; Pearsall, Hamil; Maslin, Mindy; Ifill, Tim; Dentice, Dana

doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2022.127597

Cited by 40 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Acceptance of new trees might also vary across populations, further hindering a city's capacity to achieve the 3 and 30 components. Some racial/ethnic minority populations in the U.S. have rejected tree planting programs because there was not enough community engagement before planting, and due to legacies of municipal disinvestment, insufficient mature tree maintenance, and associated burdens [130][131][132] . Similar barriers have been seen in European cities 133 .…”

Section: And 30 Componentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also, in the U.S., tree planting is often performed by cities or counties, but watering and upkeeping are delegated to residents, with some exceptions [130][131][132] , creating additional barriers to tree planting and maintenance. In these cases, municipalities may maintain newly planted trees on private lands, facilitate programs for individuals, organizations, or companies to maintain trees along a road segment, or compensate residents for planting and maintaining new trees.…”

Section: And 30 Componentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Measuring the 3-30-300 Rule to Help Cities Meet Nature Access Thresholds

Browning¹,

Locke²,

Bosch³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The 3-30-300 rule offers benchmarks for cities to promote equitable nature access. It dictates that individuals should see three trees from their dwelling, have 30% tree canopy in their neighborhood, and live within 300 meters of a high-quality green space. Implementing this demands thorough measurement, monitoring, and evaluation methods. Seven data and processes exist to assess these components, including vegetation indices, street level analyses, tree inventories, questionnaires, window view analyses, land cover maps, and green space maps. Our panel of expert’s consensus recommends surveys and window-view analyses for the '3', high-resolution land cover maps for the '30', and green space maps with network analyses for the '300'. These methods, responsive to local situations and resources, not only implement the 3-30-300 rule but foster broader dialogue on local desires and requirements. Consequently, these techniques can guide strategic investments in urban greening for health, equity, biodiversity, and climate adaptation.

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Section: And 30 Componentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: And 30 Componentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring the 3-30-300 Rule to Help Cities Meet Nature Access Thresholds

Browning¹,

Locke²,

Bosch³

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Park maintenance is often managed in ways that erode the working-class public workforce and lionize labor provided by private volunteer groups (Krinsky and Simonet 2017). It follows that community groups can be reticent to participate in greening initiatives as volunteers when they do not have the individual, private capital to take on responsibility for parks and trees without institutional supports (Riedman et al 2022). This means that affluent communities, with private resources to sustain local environmental groups or fundraise for public agencies, can reap the greatest benefits of greening initiatives (Holifield and Williams 2014;Taylor 2009).…”

Section: Caring For Urban Naturementioning

confidence: 99%

Greenwork: The Devaluation of Labor When Caring for Nature

Garrett

2023

City & Community

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Urban greening initiatives frequently promise to support economic growth and to improve environmental conditions for communities with ecological science. Despite these lofty goals, much of the labor required to carry out the quotidian, mundane work of cultivating and maintaining urban nature is provided by unpaid volunteers or low-wage landscapers. Drawing on ethnographic research and 50 in-depth interviews with experts and volunteers who manage greening initiatives in Chicago, this article provides an account for why greening labor is valued in abstract symbolic terms but economically marginalized. Namely, I argue that the everyday labor of greening cities is a distinct form of devalued care work that can be referred to as greenwork. Greenwork is devalued because: (1) urban nature is affectively framed as an invaluable asset to communities, (2) greening initiatives have a stratified labor force with few professional opportunities, and (3) nature is theorized as complex and self-sustaining by experts.

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“…Challenges to tree planting and stewardship are common beyond the LA region, and are especially evident in under-resourced neighborhoods with low tree canopy. A study of an urban greening program in a low-canopy Philadelphia neighborhood found that despite widespread recognition of the benefits of trees and green spaces, significant barriers exist which contribute to resistance or a lack of participation from residents [25]. These factors include tree care costs and related risks absorbed by the resident, and limited capacity of community organizations to provide maintenance.…”

Section: The Challenges Of Providing Tree Stewardship In Urban Enviro...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cooler and Healthier: Increasing Tree Stewardship and Reducing Heat-Health Risk Using Community-Based Urban Forestry

2023

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Heat exposure poses health risks that disproportionately burden disadvantaged communities. Trees protect against heat, but significant barriers exist to growing robust urban forests. In drier climates, complex logistics of watering during a multi-year establishment period pose a challenge because street trees are typically unirrigated and funding for maintenance is generally unavailable. This study tested the impacts of varying theory-guided community engagement approaches on beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors related to foster street tree stewardship and individual-level heat mitigation actions in 116 households in Los Angeles County, USA. We tested a control intervention against experimental messaging focused on either public health or environmental health, and also segmented participants by the degree of prior household engagement with a local tree planting group. Outcomes measured were soil moisture, tree health, and survey responses indicating benefits and barriers related to tree stewardship. Results indicate that intervention messages had limited effect on these outcomes, and that level of engagement by the tree planting group was a stronger predictor of tree stewardship. We also found that tree stewardship correlated positively to heat protection measures, suggesting that environmental engagement may be an effective portal to reducing heat risk.

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Why don’t people plant trees? Uncovering barriers to participation in urban tree planting initiatives

Cited by 40 publications

References 34 publications

Measuring the 3-30-300 Rule to Help Cities Meet Nature Access Thresholds

Measuring the 3-30-300 Rule to Help Cities Meet Nature Access Thresholds

Greenwork: The Devaluation of Labor When Caring for Nature

Cooler and Healthier: Increasing Tree Stewardship and Reducing Heat-Health Risk Using Community-Based Urban Forestry

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