Page 39 – Uforest

A new rule for greener cities

The 3-30-300 rule is an easy yet promising tool to guide urban forestry programmes, and design greener and more inclusive cities.

Urbanization and environmental degradation trends have been increasing exponentially in the last few decades, forcing us to rethink the way we plan and interact with urban environments. Within this framework, Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can provide a useful tool to address these issues. Particularly, trees and urban forests are considered effective NbS to promote greener, healthier, and more resilient and liveable cities. In the past years, the European Commission has encouraged the use of this type of solutions to bring nature back into the cities. However, the implementation of urban forestry programmes is often complicated by the different stakeholders involved and the interdisciplinary nature of this subject. In addition, there is no general rule on how to build urban forests. Given the peculiarity of each city, with regard to climate, administration, ecosystems, and size, it is difficult to design a rule that can be applied everywhere. Nevertheless, general guidelines can be provided in order to simplify the initial process. This is made even more urgent given the current climate crisis and the need for consistent action to be taken.

Against this background, Cecil Konijnendijk of the Nature Based Solutions Institute designed the 3-30-300 rule as a guiding principle for urban forestry programmes. The aim of this rule is to ensure that the entire urban population has good and equal access to green spaces and the benefits they provide. Indeed, the rule recognises that having a large tree canopy cover is not sufficient for a city, especially if it is not likely be evenly distributed. This will affect marginalised communities, which usually have little access to urban trees and green spaces in their neighbourhood. Therefore, the rule was developed to bring nature closer to people, in their neighbourhood, on their doorsteps, and in every place they live, work, and play.

How does the 3-30-300 rule work?

3 is the minimum number of trees everyone should be able to see from their home. Extensive research demonstrates the importance of nearby and visible green for mental health and wellbeing. The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed this aspect even more, leading to increased awareness on the benefits of nature.

30 refers to the percentage of tree canopy cover every neighbourhood should have. Urban forest canopy provides better microclimates and air quality, it reduces noise, and also has positive impacts on physical and mental health. In this regard, 30% represent the minimum threshold for a canopy cover to be effective, especially in terms of human health and wellbeing. In addition, greener neighbourhood can encourage people to spend more time outdoor and be active, and to interact with their neighbours, promoting social wellbeing. Many cities around the world – such as Barcelona, Bristol, Seattle, and Vancouver – have already set a target of achieving 30% canopy cover. Finally, where conditions do not allow trees to grown and thrive, the target should be 30% of vegetation.

300 stands for the maximum amount of metres from the nearest park or green space. Many studies have underlined the importance of proximity and easy access to green spaces. Specifically, the European Regional Office of the World Health Organisation recommends a maximum distance of 300 meters from the nearest green space, consisting of at least 1 hectare. This can have a positive impact on physical and mental health by encouraging the recreational use of green spaces. In this case, it will be important to work within the local context and adapt the rule to the different needs of lower-density or more dense suburban areas. Anyways, efforts shall be made to provide access to high-quality urban green spaces. Concerning this, it is important to note that the term green space does not necessary refer to park-like spaces. Linear green corridors with substantial vegetation, seating, and areas to play and exercise can be, and should be, taken into consideration too.

In conclusion, the 3-30-300 rule represents a useful guideline for the implementation of urban forests. One of the strongest aspects of this rule is that it is easy to communicate, which is very helpful when support from different stakeholders is needed. Finally, while adaptations and adjustments will be necessary in some contexts, when applied this rule will improve and expand urban forests in many cities. In addition to environmental benefits, greener cities will have a positive impact on health and wellbeing for urban populations too.

Learn more about the 3-30-300 rule here.

Benefits and challenges of urban forests

Urban forests promote greener and healthier cities, but their implementation still face many challenges.

The term urban forest refers to all the tree and shrubs present in urban areas, including trees in yards and in the streets, protected green areas, and urban or linear parks. Urban forests are the most evident form of green infrastructure in cities. Green infrastructures are natural and semi-natural infrastructures that provide ecosystem services, such as air pollution abatement or stormwater management.

What are the benefits of urban forests?

Urban forests can have a positive impact on cities and, especially, their population. They can contribute to the physical and mental health of people by creating spaces for physical activity and buffering stress. In addition, they can improve air quality, by removing harmful pollutants, as well as reduce noise. From a social point of view, urban forests can support local livelihoods, enhance community cohesion, increase food security for marginalized communities, promote urban residents’ connection to nature, and enhance equity. For example, small land areas repurposed in pocket parks with trees and seating can become space for social interaction.

On the other side, urban forests can also be beneficial for the urban ecosystem. In particular, they can mitigate the heat island effect, improve the water infrastructure, intercept rainfall and surface runoff to reduce erosion and sedimentation, enhance agricultural production in urban and peri-urban areas, and increase property values. Urban forests can even improve traffic and reduce driver speeds if properly incorporated along streets. In this regard, trees can have an important role in a “complete streets” policy. “Complete streets” are a transportation policy and design approach that requires streets to be planned and designed to enable safe, convenient and comfortable travel. Urban forests can help the achievement of these objectives by reducing air temperature, providing shade, and in some cases protecting commuters form environmental and safety hazards, such as pollution. Some cities have already started to implement the use of trees in a strategic way. For example, the city of Medellin in Colombia has obtained positive results with the adoption of such policies. They were able to achieve a decrease in the temperature of the corridors by 2-3°C, improving the every-day travel of 1 million people.

What kind of challenges do urban forests face?

Urban forests face multiple types of challenges. First, urban trees grow in difficult conditions – they are constantly exposed to pollutants, high temperatures, drought and inundation, and the limited space they have to grow roots increase susceptibility to insects and diseases. Secondly, limited resources often hinder the proper maintenance of urban forests, which needs the participation of multiple stakeholders and the collaboration of municipal governments. Third, encroachment from development often results in loss of urban forests and green spaces. Finally, the lack of public understanding on the benefits of urban forests also challenges their promotion. In particular, urban trees are often considered as a financial burden or risk, and the benefits they provide are underestimated. In relation to this, urban forests’ implementation still face a lot of barriers from a policy point of view. One reason is that cities face multiple urgent priorities, such as affordable housing or safe transportation, leaving the improvement of green spaces at the bottom of the list. Another one is that often municipalities lack of technical skills and resources they need to manage urban forests. In connection to this, tight budgets and limited investment interest also represent a big challenge for the development of urban forests. Despite the potential economic and social benefits, cities fail to recognise the true value of urban forests, which are often considered as an amenity.

In conclusion, urban forests seem to provide important benefits for cities and their populations, especially in relation to risks connected to climate change, such as heat waves, floods or droughts. However, it is important to note that the benefits and challenges listed above can vary from city to city. Climate, geography, and even cultural or individual preferences can affect the benefits provided by urban forests. Planning and implementation need to be inclusive and to understand which services communities need and want. In particular, the involvement of all relevant stakeholders is fundamental to accomplish consistent results.

This article is based on the Cities4Forests guide “Urban Forests for Healthier Cities: Policy, Planning, Regulations, and Institutional Arrangements”. You can download the full guide here.

An overview of training needs’ assessment and stakeholder analysis

Urban forests represent an innovative solution, but there are still few specific training opportunity on this subject.

Uforest, the project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission, was created to promote the development of new multidisciplinary training opportunities in urban forestry. Against this background, understanding the training needs of different stakeholders and the challenges faced by this sector represent a key starting point.

The “Uforest Training Needs’ Assessment and Stakeholder Analysis (TNA)” report provides an overview of the existing demand on training needs to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in urban forestry and Nature Based Solutions (NBS). The survey targeted university students, professional and citizens from different countries. It was translated in 8 languages, corresponding to the native languages of Uforest partners. In the end, about 246 valid questionnaires were filled out by respondents from 27 different nationalities.

What are the main knowledge gaps in urban forestry?

Most common knowledge gaps have been identified in relation to transversal concepts, such as socio-economy, urban design, and artificial intelligence. In addition, little familiarity was noted for marketing, socio-economics, urban design, environmental justice, emerging technologies and AI, governance and policy. Finally, the need emerged for more knowledge on urban food forests and related services.

What are the main training needs?

The results on training needs are in line with those on knowledge gaps. The TNA identified a high demand for developing skills related to economics – leadership and management, business modelling, financial planning, entrepreneurship – social context – cooperative leadership, societal impact, social business – and communication and information technologies – storytelling, cutting-edge technologies, marketing and communication strategies, and networking.

Key takeaways

The open ended question – on additional topics considered relevant in UF – offered interesting findings. In particular, these answers opened our eye on topics we hadn’t initially considered. Most of them included arts, urban forest pedagogy, permaculture, social impact, environmental law, and UF project management. This results confirm that urban forestry is an interdisciplinary field, situated between nature, art, culture, education, social inclusion, and technology.
There is wide spread agreement on the opportunities for innovation offered by urban forests. Most respondents recognize the environmental, economic, and cultural benefits urban forests can have on different social groups. In addition, more than half of respondent consider NBS a key topic for their professional career.
However, while most were familiar with concepts such as NBS, ecosystem services, and green and resilient cities, more than half of respondents were not familiar with the concept of urban forestry. This underlines an important knowledge gap and the need for more training on the subject and related services. In particular, more training is needed on urban food forests and alternative forest management approaches.

Most of the findings in the report are in line with some Uforest expected outputs and impacts. In the near future, this survey will be used to design a specific training programme in urban forestry. The aim of the Uforest project is to promote, also through training, the development of new urban forestry initiatives.

The experts' point of view

While working on the TNA questionnaire, our team interviewed some of our partners. Questions concerned training needs in urban forestry, how to promote knowledge exchange, how to involve citizens in the decision-making process, and much more. Coming from different backgrounds, Uforest partners provided varied and inspiring answers.

Listen to the whole interview to find out more.

Cecil Konijnendijk

For the past 25 years, Cecil has studied, taught and advised on the role of trees and green space in our cities and towns. His particular interests include green space governance (including community involvement), people-nature relationships and cultural ecosystem services, and urban forestry and urban greening. In addition, Cecil’s research puts a strong emphasis on governance and policy aspects of urban forestry. At the moment, Cecil is a Director with the Nature-Based Solutions Institute and professor of urban forestry with the University of British Columbia.

Joan Pino

Joan has been professor of Ecology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona since 2006 and a researcher at CREAF since 1997. He has been responsible for over 80 scientific publications. Joan focuses his research on landscape ecology, particularly on the relationship of landscape structure and dynamics with species richness and composition, and on the application of these results in land planning.

This interview is in Catalan.

Nadina Galle

Nadina is an ecological engineer, technologist, and entrepreneur dedicated to working with urban ecologists and planners to apply today’s technology to better monitor — and reconnect people to — urban ecosystems. A framework she coined in her doctoral thesis called the #InternetofNature (IoN). Nadina is the co-founder of Green City Watch, where she and her team work to boost urban trees’ longevity.

Rik De Vreese

Rik is Team Leader at the European Forest Institute, where he works at the Resilience Programme. At the moment, Rik is teaching Landscape Ecology at the Geography Department (Ghent University), and he has been active in the urban forestry science-policy-practice interface since 2000. His research focusses on integrating ecosystem services in decision-making and urban planning, mainly with a transdisciplinary lens.

The trends of our time: drivers and solutions

Climate change, digital innovation, raising inequalities. These are just some of the megatrends that have been shaping our world.

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, the UN Economist Network published a report reviewing the main trends that have been shaping our world for the past decades. The Network identifies five megatrends: climate change, demographic shifts, population ageing, urbanization, the emergence of digital technologies and inequalities. All these trends are interconnected and all of them influence, directly or indirectly, the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. At the same time, these megatrends are the result of human activity and therefore they can be shaped by human decisions and policy design.

We can divide these megatrends in two categories. On one side, urbanization, demographic trends, and technological innovation are a direct manifestation of human progress and they generate explicit benefits for societies and economies. Rather than be stopped, they should be shaped to maximize positive impact. On the other side, climate change and environmental degradation are not inevitable, but they are the result of policy failures and therefore need to be reversed.

There are no short-term solutions for these megatrends. However, they can definitely be changed and shaped over time by consistent policies. Each one of these trends has both positive and negative impacts. Promoting the positive effects and halting the negative ones should be the goal of any policymaker. In this regard, it is important to notice how policies designed for a single trend can influence another, creating the potential for co-benefits. More importantly, when a positive result is achieved in one area through an intervention designed for another area, it can have even greater impacts. Therefore, policymakers should be aware of the links and interconnections between these trends in order to maximize the effects of their policies. For the same reason, positive interventions in one area may have negative effects in another area. In this case, efficient policymaking will require a balanced consideration of the trade-offs.

Climate change and environmental degradation

The drives of climate change are deeply rooted in our economies and societies. Addressing this megatrend will require a transformation on both the demand and supply side. For example, conscious lifestyle changes in consumption preferences, cleaner production processes, improved resource efficiency and corporate responsibility.

In particular, the Network urges to take action on two main points. First, a major transition in food production systems, often considered the main driver of human-induced land use. Moreover, a deeper understanding of biodiversity and climate is key to the safeguarding of productivity and livelihoods. In this regard, nature-based solutions, land degradation neutrality and circular economy will be extremely important. Second, the acceleration of the transition from fossil fuel to green energy. Governments can encourage this process through market-and-price incentives, such as carbon pricing and fossil fuel subsidy elimination. Regulatory measures – for example, minimum fuel efficiency standards for vehicle fleets, minimum air quality standards, differential taxation of vehicle according to their fuel consumption – will be effective and must be taken into consideration.

Finally, mobilizing financial resources for climate mitigation and adaptation is essential in any national climate action plan. In this regard, the participation of development banks and the private sector is fundamental.

Demographic trends and population ageing

Consistent results concerning demographic trends will be achieved only through careful long-term planning. Essential actions in this area include expanded access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, and investing in education and healthcare for all. At the same time, lifelong learning will be crucial to ensure the skills flexibility across the lifecycle. In connection to this, training for older people in the use of new technologies and the elimination of age-related discrimination will be crucial to promote inclusive economic growth and productivity. Other actions to address this type of inequalities involve universal social protection measures and the promotion of retirement saving.

With regard to gender equality, specific employment actions shall be taken to improve female participation, such as family-friendly policies.

Sustainable urbanization

National urban policies represent a useful instrument for a balanced territorial development. When urbanization is incorporated in economic and development planning, it can help build a system of cities with complementary economic functions. A part from increasing productivity, this system can promote the connection between urban and rural areas.

In addition, efficient urban planning should be integrated vertically to improve policy coherence and investments, and maximize positive impacts. In this way, policies will have a positive impact on the environment – especially in terms of land use, waste reduction and circularity – but also on the economy, by strengthening local production and creating job opportunities.

Digital technologies

Harnessing digital knowledge and capability is essential for the development of any country. As consequence, establishing policies for the foundation of inclusive digital economies and societies will be crucial. In this regard, in order to fill the digital divide, the international community needs to support developing countries in the expansion of their technological capabilities. At the same time, governments have to limit the negative consequences of digitalization. Therefore, it will be fundamental the adoption of regulations for the protection of consumers, and especially their data and privacy.

Inequalities

There are no inequality-reducing policies that can be applied universally. However, any strategy aiming at addressing inequality should comprehend three blocks of policies. The first one includes policies having the goal to expand capabilities, and therefore promote equal access to opportunity. The second block encompasses policies aimed at the redistribution of incomes and profits. Finally, the third block consists of policies tackling discrimination and prejudice.

Moreover, the report underlines how cooperation among countries remains essential also in this issue.

The majority of these megatrends are not a novelty. Issues like climate change, urbanization, and inequalities have been at the center of the international debate for many years. However, no consistent action to tackle them has been taken yet. While the trends individualized by the Network present a worrying landscape for our future, especially from an environmental and social point of view, they can also offer important growth opportunities. In fact, each trend can have both negative and positive impacts. Everything will depend on the way we shape our responses and on the policies we will choose to implement. Positive outcomes and changes are possible, but they call for commitment and cooperation. In this regard, the UN represents a useful tool. However, national governments and international cooperation remain key elements for the achievement of positive results.

This article is based on the UN Economists Network’s report “Shaping the trends of our time”. We invite you to download the full report at this link.

Urban foresters on holiday

This summer we asked all our colleagues, partners in the Uforest project, to send us a photo of the forests during their holidays. The result is the gallery on this page: vote to each photo and the best one will become the Uforest photo of the month.

Polls are now closed and we are happy to announce our winner!

The first place goes to Nadina Galle and this beautiful photo she took.

The second place goes to Cecil Konijnendijk, who is followed by Petronela Candrea in the third place.

A spacial thanks to all the people who participated and voted!

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Main photo credit: Markos Mant- Unsplash

Uforest at the MSCA European Green Deal

During the event will be possible to vote for our project!

On 6 and 7 July 2021, the European Commission and the European Research Executive Agency (REA) are organising a “European Green Deal Cluster Event”. The event will bring together excellent projects and researchers funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), as well as other research and innovation initiatives under the remit of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport. These include the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), European University Alliances, Erasmus+ and Creative Europe projects.

The Green Deal cluster event is part of the EU’s feedback-to-policy activities and convenes EU policymakers, researchers and experts to explore how R&I can help achieve the goals of the European Green Deal.

Uforest‘s team will be present and partecipant will vote during those two days after we register to the event and if/during our attendance to the event. The vote will open on 9AM on Monday the 5th of July (i.e. one day prior to the event) and close on Wednesday the 7th of July at 11AM. The Virtual Exhibition Prize winner will be announced during the closing speech (7th of July at 1PM).

Forest and wellbeing

Forest and Wellbeing: Bridging Medical and Forest Research for Effective Forest-Based Initiatives

This review, a result of the collaboration between the University of Padova and Etifor, gives an overview of existing literature on the emerging topic of human wellbeing-forest contact nexus and provides a preliminary framework linking forests to wellbeing by highlighting key variables affecting this relationship.

Existing literature reveals the psychological, physiological and social wellbeing benefits of contact with forest ecosystems; however, the role of forests in this relationship remains largely unexplored.

The objectives of this review are twofold:

to provide an overview of the contributions of forest experiences to human wellbeing and the related interplay with forest ecosystems and
to identify knowledge gaps to inform future research and systematize information available for forest managers and planners to support the development of effective forest-based initiatives.

A scoping review was performed with a five-phase method integrating a systematic approach on Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed databases and snowball search.

Results:
Overall, 93 papers were included in the review. These are mainly from health-related sciences providing limited information for forest managers, planners and practitioners. Four main underlying variables of the forest-wellbeing relationship are identified: interaction, forest features, sensorial dimension of the forest and individual traits and reactions.

Conclusions:
Forest-based initiatives provide good opportunities for supporting public health and time spent in contact with forests seems to have a “health-bonus”. Whether and to what extent forest management can contribute to this is still poorly investigated. There is the need to better study causal relationships between specific forest features, type of interactions, frequency and “dose” of experiences, individual reactions and needs and wellbeing effects to maximize benefits from forest-based initiatives.

Authors:

I. Doimo
M. Masiero
P. Gatto

The reseach is an output of Ilaria Doimo research during TESAF department LERH PhD programme co-funded by Etifor.

Training needs and innovation in Urban Forestry

Share your opinion with us:

Fill in the ‘Training needs and innovation in Urban Forestry’ survey by June 25th

If you are a researcher, student, member of the public administration or civil society, or professional working with the topics of urban forestry and urban planning, we would love to hear your opinion about the most important training needs to be tackled in order to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in urban forestry and the delivery of Nature-Based Solutions.

Filling in the questionnaire will require about 15 minutes of your time and it will help our team to develop customized solutions for all of you!