South Australia stands out as having the weakest tree-protection laws, but cities around the nation are losing tree cover at a time when climate change makes them more important than ever.
It’s spring, but many street trees look stressed and sick. Heat and insect attack are arriving early. But our cities are also steadily losing canopy cover.
We cannot think of nature as something set aside in wildernesses, far from human activity. We need to conserve some elements of nature everywhere, including in the cities we live in.
Urban plantings are part of the solution to living in warmer cities, but most tree and shrub species in the world’s cities will struggle too. The impacts on liveability could be huge.
Aerial view of a residential neighbourhood with abundant urban forest around it.
(Ollie Craig/pexels)
Well-designed residential developments with abundant tree cover can help protect cities against urban heat and flooding.
Concrete and asphalt roads, and other built materials readily absorb, store and release heat, raising city temperatures, a phenomenon called the urban heat island.
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During heatwaves, the highest temperatures are often found in urbanized areas. Small green spaces are often overlooked as a way to cool urban areas.
Although it is important to have a diversity of tree species in urban landscapes, planting and protecting taller species should be strongly encouraged.
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Invasive mammals have already removed some native bird species from our cities. It’s why urban forest restoration and predator control are crucial to support the ‘ghosts of predation past’.
The Marble Arch Mound has been dubbed the “worst attraction” in London.
PA Images/Alamy
Despite their good intentions, cities rarely have the full set of skills and capabilities to turn their plans into a reality. Our research looks at what needs to change.
Green spaces are inequitably distributed across cities: The quality and quantity are lower in racialized neighbourhoods.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
Green spaces can be part of the plan to ‘build back better’ after COVID-19. But city officials and policy-makers must address systemic racism for urban green spaces to benefit public health.
The more cities grow, the more urban residents need access to enjoy urban forests.
(squeaky marmot/flickr)
The more our cities grow, the more we need access to enjoy — and be in relationship with — urban forests to maintain our well-being.
Several large cities have set ambitious targets for increasing their tree canopy. The city of Montréal has adopted an action plan that aims to plant 185,000 trees by 2025.
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At the peak of a summer heatwave in Adelaide, an aerial survey of land surface temperatures reveals just how much cooler neighbourhoods with good tree and vegetation cover can be.
Inner Melbourne alone has lost 2,000 street trees to major developments within a decade. Losing tree cover makes it even more difficult for our cities to cope with an increasingly tough climate.