Key Takeaways

1. Urban Trees Improve Communities:
   Planting trees in urban areas offers various benefits such as improving air quality, reducing the urban heat island effect, supporting biodiversity, enhancing property values, and promoting physical and mental health within communities.
2. Actionable Steps for Planting Urban Trees:
   Identifying suitable planting locations, selecting appropriate tree species adapted to the local climate, increasing soil quality and volume with soil cells, and educating the community on the benefits of trees.
3. Create a Long Term Maintenance Plan:
   Proper maintenance involving regular watering, pruning, monitoring for pests and diseases, and ongoing community engagement are essential for the health and longevity of planted trees. Councils should employ

Are you looking for ways to increase greenery in your city? As worldwide urban tree specialist with over 30 years, Citygreen can attest to the benefits of planting more trees in urban areas.

Not only do they help to improve air quality, reduce the urban heat island effect, but they also provide habitat for wildlife, improve the physical and mental health outcomes for local communities, and increase property values. In this overview,

Do you want to increase tree canopy and cool your city? Citygreen has worldwide expertise in planting methods that growing trees faster then traditional planting methods

Book a free 1-hour design workshop for you and your team with our urban greening consultants.

Our consultants will:

• Understand your current tree canopy challenges
• Bring clarity around the best urban planting methods
• How to integrate green blue infrastructure into your city

Top Benefits of Planting Urban Trees

The benefits of planting trees in urban areas are numerous and far-reaching. Trees help to improve air quality by absorbing pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and fine particulate matter. They also help to sequester carbon, which is important for mitigating the effects of climate change.

Additionally, trees help to reduce the urban heat island effect, which occurs when cities are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas due to the heat absorbed and reflected by buildings, pavement, and hardscaped surfaces. Trees combat the heat by providing shade and evapotranspiration, which helps to cool urban areas and reduce the amount of energy required for air conditioning.

Urban trees help increase biodiversity and support local ecosystems, providing habitat for wildlife, including birds, insects, small mammals, and clean the surrounding soil and air of pollutants and particulates. This is especially important in urban areas, where natural green space is often limited and runoff from hardscaped surfaces, infrastructure and cars has detrimental effects to the community.

How to Grow Better Urban Trees

Hear from Ross Clark, the man who wrote the standard on growing trees in Australia. Ross Clark recently spoke at our event ‘Where the Shade hits the Pavement’ on how to grow better urban trees.

Identifying Suitable Areas for Planting Trees in Urban Areas

Identifying suitable planting locations is an important step in planting more trees in urban areas. Areas that lack greenery and could benefit from more trees include parks, sidewalks, residential areas, and public spaces.

For example, Penrith City Council in Australia identified suitable areas to plant urban trees by using heat sensor data, topography mapping and community survey data to review where the most vulnerable in their community lived to determine areas where additional tree canopy cover would be most beneficial and prioritized planting in those locations.

You can review Penrith City Councils full ‘Cooling the City Strategy’  from our Where Shade Hits The Pavement Event here:

How to Choose a location for Urban Trees?

When choosing planting locations, it is important to consider factors such as accessibility, sunlight, and available soil volume and quality. Trees should be planted in areas that are easily accessible for maintenance and receive adequate sunlight, water and soil volume.

Soil volume and quality is absolutely crucial to the success and longevity of urban trees, as trees require well-draining soil that is rich in nutrients and uncompacted to provide space for root growth and oxygen and water the chance to peculate deep into the soil.

In urban areas where soil volume and space is a concern, Citygreen’s leading range of structural soil vault systems are designed to provide adequate growing medium for tree roots, infrastructure protection, and provide additional green blue stormwater management properties (WSUD) all within one system.

Download our Stratavault Reference Manual to learn why soil cells are essential for urban trees.

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Selecting the Right Tree Species for Urban Areas

Selecting the right tree species is crucial for the success of tree planting initiatives in urban areas. Trees that are well-suited to urban environments should be selected, such as those that can tolerate & filter pollution, withstand drought, provide tree canopy and environmental and aesthetic design.

Native tree species that are adapted to the local climate should be prioritized, as they are more likely to thrive and support local wildlife. For example, the Greening Australia initiative in Australia, planted over 500,000 trees, shrubs, and grasses in urban areas using native species. 

Related: Best Tree for Reducing Air Pollution.

When selecting tree species, it is important to consider the size of the tree at maturity, as some species may be too large for urban areas and cause damage to the tree, buildings and infrastructure.

There is nothing more disheartening than witnessing a tree’s canopy hacked to accommodate utilities like powerlines due to poor planning. In such instances, both the tree and the community suffer, missing out on the invaluable benefits of a mature tree in the environment.

Moreover, the mismanagement of trees results in wastage of ratepayers’ money, as maintenance workers must continually tend to the space surrounding the infrastructure for the total lifecycle of the tree.

Factor to Consider	Examples
Tolerance to pollution	London Plane Tree, Eastern Red Cedar, Ginkgo, Honey Locust
Drought tolerance	Hackberry, American Elm, White Oak, Redbud
Soil compaction tolerance	Red Maple, White Pine, Black Cherry, Bald Cypress
Mature size	Japanese Maple, Crape Myrtle, Dogwood, Serviceberry

Planning the Urban Tree Planting Process

Best Time to Plant a Tree

Planning the tree planting process involves several important steps. The ideal time to plant a tree is during autumn after trees lose their leaves or early spring before budbreak.

We ideally plant during autumn as tree root growth goes into overdrive, instead of the tree splitting its energy between root growth and canopy growth the tree focuses on expanding it’s fine and structural roots as far as possible when canopy growth is much less of a concern.

The further the fine and structural roots grow and establish, the better the outcomes the tree canopy will experience during the following canopy growth period.

What Soil Should you use for Urban Trees

The type of soil you use and soil preparation is also important to the success of trees in urban areas, as trees require well-draining uncompacted soil that is rich in nutrients.

Proper irrigation is necessary to ensure that newly planted trees receive enough water to establish healthy root systems. At Citygreen we can provide customised soil designed specifically for the trees environment.

Related Article: How Quality Soil Grows Healthy City Trees

Citygreen invited landscape architect Elke Haege Thorvaldson, co-author of the acclaimed ‘Soils for Landscape Development‘ to speak at ‘Where the Shade Hits the Pavement’ about how to design and specify soils for trees in urban locations.

Proper Urban Tree Planting Techniques 

When planting the tree, ensure it is positioned at the proper height and the root crown is at ground level, and the hole is dug to the correct depth to avoid oxygen deprivation that hinders root development.

Confirm the tree stands straight by using a tree anchor and having someone view it from multiple angles before backfilling the hole gently yet firmly, stabilizing the root ball’s base with packed soil. Eliminate air pockets by watering periodically during backfilling.

Only stake the tree if necessary, as studies show that unstaked trees establish faster and develop stronger trunks and roots. Mulch the tree’s base with organic matter to retain moisture, moderate soil temperature, and reduce weed competition.

Newly planted trees in urban areas need additional care during their initial establishment phase. Addition follow-up care is needed in the weeks after such as keeping the soil moist but not waterlogged, watering trees at least once a week, and more frequently during hot and windy weather.

Water must be concentrated on the rootball at the base of the tree as a newly-planted tree can only access moisture that is within reach of it’s roots. We recommend installing a Snorkil system around a newly planted tree to help water & oxygen access the deeper roots. The Snorkil also helps avoid roots trying to surface in search of nutrients as the deeper roots have access to a deeper source of food.

See the tools Citygreen use to enable urban tree planting.

To better understand how to set realistic targets for planting urban trees watch Gwilym Griffiths from  Good Canopy Company talk at Where Shade Hits the Pavement.

Engaging the Community in the Tree Planting Process

Community engagement is an important aspect of tree planting initiatives in urban areas. Involving the community in these initiatives can help to increase awareness and support for environmental conservation efforts.

Ways to encourage community participation include hosting public events, working with local organizations, and providing educational resources on the benefits of trees and how to care for them. Community members can also be involved in the selection of tree species and planting locations. 

Reach out to your city council and see if they offer a free tree planting program.

Maintaining Planted Trees in Urban Areas

Proper maintenance is crucial for the health and longevity of planted trees in urban areas. Regular watering is necessary to ensure that trees receive enough moisture, especially during hot and dry periods. Pruning is important to remove dead or damaged branches and promote healthy growth.

Monitoring for pests and diseases is also important, as urban environments can be conducive to the spread of these issues. It is important to address any issues early to prevent them from spreading and causing damage to the trees.

Monitoring the Impact of Urban Tree Planting on the Environment

What gets measured gets improved. Measuring the impact of tree planting initiatives in your community is crucial. This involves monitoring the reduction of air pollution, the increase in biodiversity and health of the tree, heat measurements, property values, and increased community activity.

By tracking progress, you can determine the monetary and environmental value these trees bring to the community.

Related Article: Soil Vaults Deliver Huge ROI in Quantifiable Results

Overcoming Challenges in Planting More Trees in Urban Areas

There are several challenges to planting more trees in urban areas, such as lack of space and limited funding or initiative by developers, council . However, there are solutions to these challenges:

City Mandated Tree Plantings for new Constructions: New Constructions and developments must include a minimum number of trees in their designs to ensure that any new constructions are adding environmental value to the community to help combat climate change, and the urban heat island effect.

City Mandated Soil Volumes: Soil Volume is critical to the success of urban trees so city standards must include a minimum soil volume that is adequate for trees to survive once they reach maturity. 

Maintenance Programs: Ensuring the continued care and maintenance of newly planted trees is vital for their survival and growth. However, a challenge arises with tree ownership, responsibility, and care, particularly when dealing with project-based constructions focused on swift project completion and tight deadlines.

It is crucial to establish maintenance programs during the initial contract process. By doing so, we can guarantee that the development and success of the trees are not overlooked or disregarded after the initial planting phase. 

Case Study: Stratavault Empowering Tree Planting in Tamworth CBD

Tamworth CBD’s bustling Peel Street serves as a central hub, attracting visitors from distant towns and farmers for work and leisure. During the renowned week-long ‘Toyota Country Music Festival,’ Peel Street transforms into a lively pedestrian thoroughfare with bustling markets and with performance stages and buskers up and down the street.

Recognizing the potential to breathe new life into the adjacent Fitzroy Street, the Tamworth Regional Council embarked on a comprehensive revitalization project in December 2017.

This transformation aimed to integrate the underutilized street seamlessly into the CBD, invigorating the street for residents and local businesses by adapting the street into a walkable pedestrian street with inviting spaces for people to gather, including the addition of trees planted in Stratavault for shade, street furniture with misting, and captivating ‘living umbrellas.’

Read the Full Case Study

Conclusion

Planting trees in urban areas is crucial for environmental conservation and improving the quality of life for city residents. By identifying suitable planting locations, selecting the right tree species, planning the planting process, engaging the community, and maintaining planted trees, we can increase green space in urban areas and reap the numerous benefits trees provide. 

The team at Citygreen is available to take your questions to help you deliver higher quality urban trees. Contact us.

Urban Forest a Priority in Charlotte, NC:

Nestled in Mecklenberg County is the charming city of Charlotte, North Carolina, and nestled between all of the new and historical architecture is a strong, ever growing urban forest.

As boasted on the City of Charlotte’s website, “Charlotte is nationally recognized for its  extensive, diverse and healthy tree canopy. For more than 30 years, Charlotte citizens and government agencies have chosen to protect and preserve trees in our community.”

The boasts, though, are backed up by leafy green facts. In 2012, the National Recreation and Park Association awarded the National Gold Medal Award, and the teams that make up The City Arborist and The Urban Forestry oversee the protection, planting, and maintenance of trees. Charlotte is logged at 46% with over 200 species of trees, and an encouraging ration of one tree for every seven residents.

It’s clear that Charlotte holds a certain amount of pride and motivation in maintaining and improving the health of their canopy. One way they bring the city dwellers into an active role is good old fashioned awards.

“The Charlotte Tree Advisory Commission, on behalf of The Mayor and City Council, annually presents Charlotte’s Crown Tree Awards in four different categories.  These awards recognize excellence in tree preservation, tree planting, and tree advisory.  To be eligible, the site must have been complete for one year.”

Further, Charlotte maintains its position in the top ranks of cities with urban forests. Recently completed in December of 2015, Charlotte has made available to the public First Ward Park. First Ward is a 4 acre park of former nestled, “between the ImaginOn library and UNC Charlotte’s uptown campus, [and] is expected to anchor a major redevelopment of the area, much of which is still surface parking owned by Levine Properties.”

Just as in so many other urban forests, the benefits of a strong urban forest bring huge returns to Charlotte’s infrastructure, and has provided this charmed city , “… with $2.76 million in benefits. In addition, Charlotte’s trees provide more than $900,000 in energy savings annually and $2.1 million in stormwater controls.”

The results in Charlotte are inarguable and compelling models for other city’s urban forestry efforts.

photo coutesy of . fortibus

DC Calling More of Their Trees Special:

In 2003, a law was enacted that began a new future for the trees of the United States’ national capital. The Urban Forest Preservation act outlined specifically, “To establish an urban forest preservation program; to require a Special Tree removal permit and community notification prior to the removal or replacement of a tree with a circumference of 55 inches or more, [and] to establish a Tree Fund to be used to plant trees and defray costs associated with the implementation of this act.”

As with any other urban forestry program, the evidence of benefits in having a healthy urban forest are real and tangible. The Act created in 2003 opened a path for a stronger future for community members to be pro-active and effective in their decisions to support their urban forest’s future.

Coinciding with the birth of the Act of 2003, the non-profit organization Casey Trees was founded by Betty B. Casey, a local resident. Her intent is in this establishment is, “To restore, enhance and protect the tree canopy of the Nation’s Capital.”

Now in 2015, the new Tree Canopy Protection Amendment Act of 2015 is introduced by, “Council member Charles Allen of Ward 6 and co-sponsored by Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh.” In support of the Act and its provisions, Casey Trees promoted and made available to the public a petition to sign in support of the Act passing.

The act makes several significant provisions including bringing DDOT’s Urban Forestry Administration into a more proactive position to cover not just street trees, but also ones located on school and park grounds.

In order for these “special” trees to be removed, increased payments must be made to the DC “Tree Fund” unless the tree is considered unhealthy or hazardous. In addition, the original circumference of 55-inches decreases to 47-inches, and fines for removing a “special” tree have tripled.

“Now the Sierra Club of DC and some others would like the Council to embrace new criteria that would bring more trees into this “special” category,” states the Forest Hills Connection webpage.

These clearly outlined acts offer a structure and system that almost guarantee the responsible handling for DC’s forestry indefinitely. In DC, it’s not so bad to be a tree.

 

Thousands of street trees to be planted in Greater Geelong to cool sizzled suburbs:

Under a new council plan, Greater Geelong is set to plant thousands of street trees to grow the region’s urban forest and cool its hottest suburbs. These include Corio, Norlane, and Whittington, where new trees are set to mitigate summer heatwaves and provide environmental benefits.

Councillors backed the plan to turn Geelong into a “cool green city for the future” at a recent public meeting. The Urban Forest Strategy shows the city’s budget allows it to plant 1050 advanced street trees a year, but it chops down almost that many (1000) due to old age, disease, and new developments. The net gain of 50 trees is below the stated aim of 400 additional trees per year, so the strategy aims to increase plantings by 500 a year at an estimated cost of $200,000.

Councillors were told suburbs of social disadvantage, such as Corio, Norlane, and Whittington, would benefit from plantings because they had little tree coverage and were among the areas that suffered most on Geelong’s hottest days.

Austin Ward Councillor, Jock Irvine, said Whittington residents had responded well to the trees planted in their neighbourhood, many volunteering to maintain them. “We need to start in the more barren areas,” Councillor Irvine said. “It’s hard to put a value on beautifying a neighbourhood and a streetscape, but it is important. In some cases people might feel like they don’t get a lot in life, so they respond very well when the council comes and gives them another reason to take pride in where they live. Obviously, there’s a cost to council but the problem is that we didn’t plant enough trees in the first place. The leafy streets of Newtown and Herne Hill are only the way they are now because the effort was made a long time ago and now those trees are established.”

The city used satellite thermal imagery to show areas of Geelong that heat up more quickly and then retain that heat into the night. The northern industrial zone was singled out as a hotspot, and therefore a priority for planting. The report also highlighted a variety of benefits trees would provide, including cooling neighbourhoods, improving air quality, saving energy, and leveraging stormwater.

San Francisco Claims Their Trees:

Across the United States, cities and regions all contend with a host of different environmental elements and human needs. Each city has its own approach to its urban forestry and community involvement, and San Francisco is no different.

Founded about five years ago, an initiative called The Urban Forest Map was created for the residents within San Francisco to take an active part in tallying up and taking inventory of the trees around them.

Their mission statement says, “The Urban Forest Map is a collaboration of government, nonprofits, businesses and you to map every tree in San Francisco…The information we gather will help urban foresters and city planners to better manage trees in specific areas, track and combat tree pests and diseases, and plan future tree plantings. Climatologists can use it to better understand the effects of urban forests on climates, and students and citizen scientists can use it to learn about the role trees play in the urban ecosystem.”

Partnering with this forum is the San Francisco Department of Public Works. The department holds meeting open to the public nine months out of the year, and provide online records of all concerns discussed.

With this sort of accountability and freedom to offer input, the Urban Forest Map was created to help, “provide a one-stop repository for tree data, welcoming information from any agency or group and enabling and celebrating citizen participation.”

Hand in hand with the Urban Forest Map initiative are the Friends of the Urban Forest, an organization founded almost four decades ago as a response to cut fundings for the urban forest. Since then FUF has, “developed a dedicated Tree Care program led by an ISA-certified arborist….[and]  launched its Youth Tree Care program (now called Green Teens), one of the nation’s few paid urban forestry vocational skills training programs.”

As we strive to take a more active approach in our urban forests, knowledge is power, and technologies are constantly created, updated and improved to tell us more about the trees we integrate into our cities’ landscapes. An essential part of the success of these initiatives is the support and participation of the local inhabitants. It’s time to grow our environments.

Entire forest to be built in Singapore high-rise apartment atrium:

Green Heart, in Singapore’s Marina One, is set to be a green space like never before. Including a multi-level public garden, calming waterfalls, reflecting pools, and a dense web of lush trees, this massive 376,000-square-foot project will be a one-of-a-kind green urban space when it’s officially launched in 2016.

The brainchild of German studio Ingenhoven Architects and Singapore A61, construction of Marina One began in 2012. The work has since been handed over to landscape architecture firm Gustafson Porter, which is now converting the space into Singapore’s largest green urban sanctuary – with four high-rise apartments already surrounding the space.

Pathways and ponds will blend seamlessly into the surrounding business district as a way to complement the existing green spaces of Gardens by the Bay, a 101-hectare park of reclaimed land that sits beside Singapore’s Marina Reservoir.

Curving balconies will resemble traditional Asian rice terraces, with additional plant beds scaling the facade, culminating in lofty “cloud forests” above.

A triumph in green urban design, Green Heart will set the standard on a scale never seen before. “The planting is designed to create inspiring and multifunctional urban spaces to be enjoyed by all in Singapore,” Gustafson Porter told De Zeen magazine.

Image courtesy of M+S Pte Ltd.

202020 Vision Launches National Plan to Reach its Goal:

The 202020 Vision, an initiative of the Nursery & Garden Industry of Australia (NGIA), was named after its mission: “To create 20% more green space in our urban areas by 2020.”

Launched in 2013, the initiative has worked tirelessly to collate the knowledge of, “500 greening experts from across business, government, academia and the community sector consulted during the initiative’s Growing The Seeds tour into a document that showcases proven, scalable and replicable solutions to greening the urban landscape.” This document was officially launched last month as The 202020 Plan.

Dr Anthony Kachenko, Research and Development Team Leader and Portfolio Manager at Horticulture Innovation Australia said, “The 202020 Plan shows if you get industry and government leaders together to share their collective wisdom they can create simple, impactful pathways to reversing the urban greening crisis – it truly is collaborative impact at its best. Through the plan we now have the start of a compendium of urban greening strategies that is a must-read for every business, level of government and community group in Australia that is playing a role to see our cities become healthy, productive, thriving places that can mitigate the effects of climate change.”

The City of Melbourne’s Urban Forest Strategy is one of the initiative’s most successful projects, and will see the council increase canopy cover from 22 per cent to 40 per cent by 2040. Next on the agenda is a “White Label Urban Forest Strategy” for other local governments, providing a template enabling them to replicate The City of Melbourne’s success.

Collectively, governments, business, and planners are beginning to understand the need to green urban environments. The 202020 Vision, “Australia’s biggest network of green space experts, creators and supporters…is uniquely placed to pioneer a more efficient approach.”

The 202020 Plan is available for download here.

Winter Park, Florida Goes Out on a Limb: