:: The Urban Forest::

Public, green space has been an integral part of the design of many modern cities. In the U.S., for example, taking their cue from European examples, designers planted trees and shrubs along streets and boulevards to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the urban landscape. City parks were developed to introduce a piece of the natural world into an urban setting, providing scenic refuges from the chaos of city life. Such trends continued into the mid-1900s, when tree planting was used in many cities to revitalize and beautify declining, downtown neighborhoods and commercial districts. However, for the greater part of the 20th century, urban parks and planted trees were generally viewed (with some notable exceptions) as places distinct from the city or as decorative elements. That is, their benefits were seen mainly in the context of their social contributions to city life.

Perspectives changed dramatically in the early seventies, when organizations, such as the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO), and academic institutions initiated scientific investigations into the role of urban vegetation (Bradley 1995). Since then, a large body of literature has grown up around the topic of urban trees, lining streets, in gardens and parks, downtown, and in city fringes, which are collectively termed the urban forest. These studies have found that the urban forest is not only a provider of social benefits, aesthetic, emotional, and recreational, but also many environmental ones. The urban forest is now recognized as being inextricably linked to the ecology of the city— the interactions between urban wildlife, water, energy, climate, and humans. It has become an important player in the movement to create more livable, sustainable cities.