Trees play a major role in our lives and in our urban environment. We appreciate them for their aesthetic beauty, for their cooling shade, and for the ways they enrich our homes, parks, playgrounds, and streetscapes, and set the stage for our outdoor activities.
However, it has become evident in recent years that our urban forest should be seen, more broadly, as a critical part of our urban infrastructure–our green infrastructure. This is because the benefits of our urban forest are many and diverse.
- Trees are the “gold standard” for addressing the risks and vulnerabilities due to the adverse effects of climate change. They mitigate the impacts of extreme heat and high humidity days by effectively cooling the air and offering shade for buildings, public spaces, and individuals engaged in outdoor activities; and they mitigate the impacts of intense storms and flooding events by acting as natural sponges that absorb runoff, prevent erosion, and filter pollutants to preserve the health of waterways and aquatic habitats.
- Trees are a vital part of our healthcare infrastructure. Research has proven that a robust urban forest has many beneficial health effects–including lower levels of illness and disease, reduced stress levels, increased respiratory function, improved mental health, increased outdoor physical exercise–all resulting in a significant reduction in healthcare costs.
- Trees play a part in our energy conservation infrastructure. Tree-shaded homes and buildings reduce energy costs, thereby contributing to efforts to conserve energy, to alleviate energy burdens–particularly on low- and middle-income communities–and to increase economic resilience.
- Trees support our neighborhood infrastructure by fostering vibrant, walkable neighborhoods that support community interactions, reduce crime, and contribute to community safety.
- Trees are a central part of our environmental infrastructure. A robust urban forest is critical for healthy biodiversity and wildlife corridors.
- Trees are also part of our economic infrastructure. The presence of trees has been shown to increase the value of homes, rental properties, developments, as well as the value of goods and services in tree-shaded retail and consumer environments.
- For more details on the benefits of trees and urban forests, please see the following resources:
Despite these many important benefits, urban trees are woefully unappreciated and lack adequate consideration in our urban planning.
Trees take a very long time to reach an age when they begin to provide the many benefits noted above. As Charlottesville is a city undergoing rapid growth, we need to be aware of how rapidly we are losing our mature urban forest, and the devastating effects these losses have on the quality of life for both humans and animals, and for the quality of the air, water and the environment around us.