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Amsterdam, Netherlands. Planting trees in urban areas can reduce the impacts of urban heat islands. Dutch_Photos/Shutterstock

Planting more trees could reduce premature heat-related deaths in European cities by a third – new research

Meelan Thondoo, University of Cambridge; Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Australian Catholic University, and Tamara Iungman, Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)

In 2015, 6,700 premature deaths were caused by urban heat – this can be reduced by a third by planting more trees.
Photo: Jaana Dielenberg

Climate change threatens up to 100% of trees in Australian cities, and most urban species worldwide

Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez, Western Sydney University; Jaana Dielenberg, Charles Darwin University; Jonathan Lenoir, Université de Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV); Mark G Tjoelker, Western Sydney University, and Rachael Gallagher, Western Sydney University

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.
Although it is important to have a diversity of tree species in urban landscapes, planting and protecting taller species should be strongly encouraged. (Shutterstock)

Large trees are essential for healthy cities

Alison Munson, Université Laval and Anaïs Paré, Université Laval

There is a growing interest in planting small trees in urban areas. However, large trees have significant advantages.
Turning a street tree into timber is much more respectful and useful than mulching it all.

When a tree dies, don’t waste your breath. Rescue the wood to honour its memory

Cris Brack, Australian National University; Ashley Jameson Eriksmoen, Australian National University, and Rod Lamberts, Australian National University

City trees are often short-lived and many others get cut down in their prime. Turning them into mulch both wastes timber and releases stored carbon. A wood rescue program creates a more fitting legacy.
Where’s the shade? Trees are not an immediate or whole answer to keeping cool. Cameron Tonkinwise

Keeping the city cool isn’t just about tree cover – it calls for a commons-based climate response

Abby Mellick Lopes, Western Sydney University and Cameron Tonkinwise, University of Technology Sydney

Trees and the shade they provide are one of the best ways of cooling cities. But they also present challenges that are best resolved by managing this shared resource as part of an urban commons.
Allowing residents to remove trees within three metres of buildings or ‘ancillary structures’ could dramatically alter the green infrastructure of dense inner Sydney suburbs like Rozelle. Tom Casey/Shutterstock

Trees can add $50,000 value to a Sydney house, so you might want to put down that chainsaw

Sara Wilkinson, University of Technology Sydney; Agnieszka Zalejska-Jonsson, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and Sumita Ghosh, University of Technology Sydney

Greater urban density is making it harder to preserve, let alone increase, tree cover. It’s vital, then, to demonstrate the full value of green infrastructure for healthy liveable cities.
Australian cities could lose some of their most common trees to climate change. Jamen Percy/Shutterstock

Our cities need more trees, but some commonly planted ones won’t survive climate change

Alessandro Ossola, Macquarie University; Hugh Burley, Macquarie University; Leigh Staas, Macquarie University; Linda Beaumont, Macquarie University; Michelle Leishman, Macquarie University, and Rachael Gallagher, Macquarie University

Thirty tree species make up more than half of Australia’s urban forests. Some won’t survive climate change, so cities must plant a more diverse mix of the right species to preserve their tree cover.
Continued development of our cities is putting pressure on urban green spaces. AAP/David Crosling

Does higher-density city development leave urban forests out on a limb?

Joe Hurley, RMIT University; Ebadat Parmehr, RMIT University; Kath Phelan, RMIT University; Marco Amati, RMIT University, and Stephen Livesley, The University of Melbourne

Achieving green cities will require more than just canopy cover targets and central city strategies. It will need new approaches to urban planning and development.

Related Topics

  1. Cities
  2. Cities & Policy
  3. Climate change
  4. green cities
  5. Green spaces
  6. Trees
  7. Urban greening
  8. Urban green space
  9. Urban heat
  10. Urban trees

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