More about trees

More reading and resources about the benefits of trees in urban and suburban areas. Click to expand.

Articles and reports

“What Technology Could Reduce Heat Deaths? Trees.” New York Times, July 2, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/02/climate/trees-cities-heat-waves.html

“Sustaining America’s Urban Trees and Forests: A Forests on the Edge Report,” USDA, 2010. https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/35572

“Trees and Vegetation,” Chapter Two in Reducing Urban Heat Islands: Compendium of Strategies, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2008. Draft. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-05/documents/reducing_urban_heat_islands_ch_2.pdf

“Planting Healthy Air: A Global Analysis of the Role of Urban Trees in Addressing Particulate Matter Pollution and Extreme Heat,” The Nature Conservancy, 2016. https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/20160825_PHA_Report_Final.pdf

“Urban Nature for Human Health and Well-Being: A Research Summary for Communicating the Health Benefits of Urban Trees and Green Space,” USDA, 2018 https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fs_media/fs_document/urbannatureforhumanhealthandwellbeing_508_01_30_18.pdf

“Funding Trees for Health: An Analysis of Finance and Policy Options to Enable Tree Planting for Public Health,” The Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land, and Analysis Group, 2017. https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/funding-trees-for-health/

“Urban Street Trees: 22 Benefits, Specific Applications”, Walkable Communities, 2006. https://www.walkable.org/download/22_benefits.pdf

Websites

Vibrant Cities Lab, a joint project of the U.S. Forest Service, American Forests, and the National Association of Regional Councils https://www.vibrantcitieslab.com/

“Green Infrastructure: Cities,” American Society of Landscape Architects https://www.asla.org/ContentDetail.aspx?id=43535

“Tree Facts,” Arbor Day Foundation https://www.arborday.org/trees/treefacts/

Examples of urban tree programs and initiatives around the United States

Canopy (Palo Alto area, CA), https://canopy.org/


Grey to Green (Portland, OR), https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bes/47203


Urban Forestry Program (New York City), https://www.nycgovparks.org/trees


Trees for Seattle, https://www.seattle.gov/trees, and Friends of Seattle’s Urban Forest http://friends.urbanforests.org


Urban Forestry Program (Cambridge, MA), https://www.cambridgema.gov/Services/urbanforestry

References for “Trees In Lexington: FAQ”

1. U.S. Environmental Projection Agency (2008), Trees and Vegetation,” Chapter Two in Reducing Urban Heat Islands: Compendium of Strategies, Draft.

2. Arbor Day Foundation,Tree Facts.

3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, compilation of sources at "Soak up the Rain; Trees Help Reduce Runoff."

4. Nowak, David J. (2020). "Urban trees, air quality and human health," in Forests for Public Health, Christos Gallis and Won Sop Shin, eds. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

5. Tallamy, Douglas (2019). Nature’s Best Hope,Timber Press.

6. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2008). “Trees and Vegetation,” Chapter Two in Reducing Urban Heat Islands: Compendium of Strategies, Draft.

7. USDA (2018). Urban Nature for Human Health and Well-Being: A Research Summary for Communicating the Health Benefits of Urban Trees and Green Space.

8. Troy, Austin et al.(2012), The relationship between tree canopy and crime rates across an urban–rural gradient in the greater Baltimore region, Landscape and Urban Planning 106(3):262-270.

9. Ulrich, R.S. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery,” Science. 224:420-421.