Because of the different urban morphologies of the German case of Frankfurt and Berlin and the American cases of Los Angeles and Washington, the comparison of their urban forests rests largely on the comparison between the number of hectares versus the number of trees. Management practices are also inherently different as they relate to both morphology and natural factors. What can be learned from the cases of Frankfurt, Berlin, Los Angeles, and Washington is not so much how certain aspects or practices of one urban forest can be emulated elsewhere, but rather that each urban forest is defined by the needs of its city, taking on its own unique form. As such, the structure of an urban forest, its morphology or the management practices employed, cannot be single handedly copied in other cities. Each must adapt and be responsive to its environment.
These case studies, albeit very different, demonstrate how an urban forest can develop in unison with its city, and to different degrees of success, nurturing one another symbiotically in the process. The case studies further emphasize the need to break the boundaries of a singular perception of the meaning of urban forest, and rather understand it in its multiplicity of place derived morphologies. Whether it is in the form of a large tract of land reserved for plants and trees, or whether it is singular trees in large numbers interspersed throughout the city, each condition is a product its location. In each case, trees, in whatever context, are recognized as a critical part of the urban infrastructure.
Since urbanity will not be negated for the sake of forests, a compromise must be reached. Tree cover is a necessity not just decoration, and it is part of the structure of a site as much as a building. The ideal situation will be when the urban fabric and nature will serve as complimentary rather than contradictory components of the city as a whole. The optimal balance between the built and the natural environment will be that which corresponds to the resources and needs of a particular city.