ARCHIVES: This is legacy content from before Sustainable Cities Collective was relaunched as Smart Cities Dive in early 2017. Some information, such as publication dates or images, may not have migrated over. For the latest in smart city news, check out the new Smart Cities Dive site or sign up for our daily newsletter.

Tree Management Plans are Essential for Sustainable Cities

For the greener cities of the future, a tree management plan for the urban environment becomes a practical discipline that includes tree planting, selection, protection and care. The overall management of trees could be seen as a more collective resource. Let's take San Francisco, for example. They have more than 105,000 trees growing along their streets, which contributes to a more livable and sustainable city. Trees help to eliminate the pollutants from both the water and the air, and trees create a friendlier and more vibrant neighborhood. Imagine San Francisco without any trees.



Why Create an Urban Planting Plan Now?

chrysler-building-569317_960_720.jpg

Without a detailed and comprehensive vision for what you want to accomplish, the future of the street trees of your city will be uncertain. You have to create a long-term plan that will look at the health of the trees and how it will impact the neighborhood. Without ongoing urban tree planting efforts, your city will lose its natural beauty. As stated before, San Francisco has around 105,000 trees, and they pride themselves on being a green city, but unfortunately, they also have one of the smallest tree canopies of any large city within the United States. They have 17 percent fewer trees than Chicago, 21 percent fewer than Los Angeles and 24 percent fewer than New York City. What's worse is that they are on the decline. With the new plantings not keeping pace with tree mortality and tree removals, there is plenty of space being opened. Do not let your city lose that lustrous look that trees can provide.



Why Green Urban Planning Matters

Green urban planning has importance because it will help to make your city more beautiful. In addition, if you are in the real estate business, the trees in a neighborhood can increase the number of ADL forms that are filled out. Street and park tree management should be the first element considered with managing an urban forest. Without an adequate plan for action, taking care of your city's urban forests will not prove effective. Before you begin, you want to establish and clarify your key objectives and priorities. After you have done that, you can communicate with the rest of your team and set a guideline that becomes a healthy resource for everyone to take advantage of. Without clear objectives at the beginning of the planning process, you do not know what you are attempting to accomplish.



What Leads to Success

When designing your management plan, you want to develop an adequate timetable that sets deadlines for maintenance tasks and determines the budget. You want to avoid some legal issues that can arise with improper maintenance due to overhanging tree branches that can injure people passing by. One of the key helpers who can assist you in your maintenance plan is the utility company. You can contact them to help with planning, and many times, they will support you in your efforts. An effective tree care program ensures that you will not be held liable in the court of law.



Addressing the Key Players

landscapes-1075840_960_720.jpg

Whenever designing the plan, you want to address the key players of your plan. You should have both short-term and long-term goals for both the street and park trees because this will keep your city stay green and lushly beautiful for years to come. Examining these issues is important because what affects one group of stakeholders may not affect another group of people. Therefore, you want to uncover the shared elements that will tie each group together for better understanding and development.



Completing an Inventory Analysis

Taking an inventory analysis of the trees in your community can help to create a plan tailored to your situation. The inventory will range from looking at the condition of the trees to the management needs, and it will use statistical analysis to decide on the size of the project. You have different inventories that you can take. One of the easiest inventories is known as a visual survey, and this involves traveling along the roadway network and reviewing the tree conditions. The best time for taking visual inventory is after you have completed a damage assessment. Visual surveys will look at the severity of tree damage, and it will look at whether it presents a public health hazard.


Lease agreement lawyers can help you to understand the terms of your contract, and they will make sure that there are no unfair terms in it. For example, having to pay for city tree trimming is one of the clauses that you want to look out for. Other issues that should be addressed in your urban tree planting plan should include public safety concerns, the value in having an urban forest and how much maintenance will be needed. With the right plan, you can make your city a greener and more welcoming place to live.