Green spaces
Imagine a city without trees… Suzanne Simmons, Projects Director at Trees for Cities, explains why the Covid-19 crisis may well shape our response to urban trees and green space supply Perhaps the only way we can understand a city without trees is to compare urban areas that possess a wealth of tree cover with those that have a dearth. If you live in a UK city this may be more or less apparent depending not only on what city you live in, but also which part you live in. With more than 80 per cent of the population now classed as city dwellers, it has become increasingly urgent that we make space for trees and recognise the benefits and the cost savings they can bring to the environment, businesses and communities when planned carefully. Recognising these benefits and the cost savings they bring at decision-making, funding and planning level will demonstrably create healthier, resilient and more prosperous cities. At Trees for Cities we choose to operate in urban areas that score highly when checked against multiple deprivation indices and we aim directly and indirectly to tackle certain inequalities through our tree planting programmes. This includes focussing attention on priority areas with low tree canopy cover, poor access to green spaces and nature, and poor air quality. These indices can all lead to poor quality health and wellbeing and a disconnectedness with nature. Research illustrates that there is nearly always a correlation between areas that are socio-economically deprived and areas with greatest environmental deprivation.
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That correlation can be further focussed on trees, where all deprived UK areas demonstrate low levels of canopy cover.
also we can directly locate our tree planting in areas with high levels of air pollution, develop improved opportunities for connectedness with nature through planting programmes in schools, and improve amenity and biodiversity through tree planting on local community green spaces.
Measuring tree canopy cover Tree canopy cover is a useful indicator of the extent of the presence of trees across a city, Cost benefits and it has become a default methodology of In addition to tree canopy cover, we assessing urban tree numbers. Measuring tree are now more able than ever before, to canopy cover has become easier, providing accurately quantify the cost effectiveness and accurate, simple, fast and replicable digital multiple benefits trees can bring to urban mapping. Replicability therefore allows easy environments. In doing so, we recognise the comparisons and can support identification value of trees as Natural Capital and can of opportunities for organisations to track demonstrate how trees can mitigate against changes in canopy cover over time and the impacts of a changing climate on cities. against targets, which in turn can demonstrate By measuring the added value of trees in effectiveness of tree planting programmes. monetary terms, the case for new trees can be Measuring tree canopy cover can also be a presented as an opportunity for real financial useful way of targeting funding to areas that gain, which is likely to be met positively by are deficient in trees and it further supports, potential partner organisations, decision makers by default, Trees for Cities’ efforts to focus tree and funding agents on top of other, less planting in mainly deprived city regions. easy to quantify benefits, such as By focussing on urban areas of aesthetics and biodiversity. In deprivation when we plant If trees effect, trees should be viewed trees, Trees for Cities is able present as ‘assets that increase in to tap in to the wider a solution value over time’ because benefits trees bring when unlike grey infrastructure, developing partnerships and an to current ticipate they bring indirect and at local level. This d future u deferred benefits . means we are not only rban problem The real cost benefits filling canopy cover s, surely may only become gaps on a plan, but is th n
ow e time protect to plant, a promot nd e
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