Chapter 3. Benefits of Urban Forests

Benefits of Urban Forests

Urban forests benefit us socially, environmentally, and economically. These benefits inspire Canadians to protect and improve their urban forests.

The social benefits of urban forests include:

• Urban forests promote physical activity by providing space for recreation and creating an appealing outdoor environment (Mytton, Townsend, Rutter, & Foster, 2012).
• Urban forests promote mental well-being and reduce stress, heart rate, blood pressure (Kardan et al., 2015) and incidence of obesity, athsma, and diabetes (Ulmer et al., 2016).
• Urban forests can reduce crime rates and violence (Parker, 2018; Troy, Grove, and O’Neill-Dunne, 2012).
• Urban forests can promote healing – people in hospital rooms with views of trees heal faster (Ulrich, 1992; Cooper Marcus, 2007).
• Urban forests make cities more beautiful (Price, 2003; Tyrväinen, Pauleit, Seeland, & de Vries, 2005) and can hide unattractive features like walls, freeways, and parking lots.
• Urban forests increase road safety by slowing traffic, reducing stress, or improving driver attention (Mok, Landphair, & Naderi, 2006; Naderi, 2003).
• Urban forests provide food for people (Colinas, Bush, & Manaugh, 2018).
• Urban forests promote social interaction and a sense of community, including stronger ties to neighbours, a greater sense of safety, and more use of outdoor public spaces (Kuo, 2003; Westphal, 2003).

The environmental benefits of urban forests include:

• Urban forests reduce air pollution and provide oxygen (Nowak, Hirabayashi, Doyle, McGovern & Pasher, 2018).
• Urban forests reduce the urban heat island effect and reduce the temperature of cities, helping cities adapt to climate change (Brandt et al., 2016; Sinnett, 2018; Rahman, Armson, & Ennos, 2014; Edmondson, Stott, Davies, Gaston, & Leake, 2016; Wang & Akbarib, 2016; Livesley, McPherson, & Calfapietra, 2016).
• Urban forests reduce buildings’ energy use, including heating costs (Nowak, Hoehn, Bodine, Greenfield, & O’Neil-Dunne, 2016; Akbari, 2002; Akbari & Taha, 1992).
• Urban forests improve water filtration, store water, and reduce stormwater runoff (Berland, 2017; Bartens, Day, Harris, Dove, & Wynne, 2008).
• Urban forests help provide habitat for wildlife and help preserve biodiversity (Aronson et al., 2017; Alvey, 2006; Mörtberg, 2001).
• Urban forests provide habitat for wildlife (Threlfall et al., 2015) and promote biodiversity (Sandström, Angelstam, & Mikusiński, 2006).

The economic benefits of urban forests include:

• Urban forests provide ecosystem services evaluated at $330 million per year for Halifax, Montreal, Vancovuer, and Toronto (Alexander & DePratto, 2014).
• Urban forests add value of between $1.88 and $12.70 for every dollar spent on maintaining them, depending on the city (Alexander & McDonald, 2014).
• Urban forests increase property values (Escobedo, Adams, & Timilsina, 2015).
• Urban forests help create attractive business districts and improve visitors’ perceptions of them (Wolf, 2003).
• Urban forests have a positive influence on visitors’ perceptions of a city (Andrada & Deng, 2010).
• Urban forests provide space for recreation (Schroeder, 2009; Miller, Hauser, & Werner, 2015).

To learn more about the benefits of urban forests, visit Tree Canada’s web page on the Benefits of Trees.

A note on the citations: We selected seminal and recent literature on the benefits of urban forests.

Further reading:

Akbari, H. (2002). Shade trees reduce building energy use and CO2 emissions from power plants. Environmental Pollution, 116(1), S119-S126. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0269-7491(01)00264-0

Akbari, H. & Taha, H. (1992). The impact of trees and white surfaces on residential heating and cooling energy use in four Canadian cities. Energy, 17(2) 141-149. https://doi.org/10.1016/0360-5442(92)90063-6

Alexander, C. & DePratto, B. (2014). The Value of Urban Forests in Cities Across Canada. Special Report – TD Economics. Retrieved from https://www.td.com/document/PDF/economics/special/UrbanForestsInCanadianCities.pdf

Alexander, C. & McDonald, C. (2014). Urban Forests: The Value of Trees in the City of Toronto. Special Report: TD Economics. Retrieved from https://www.td.com/document/PDF/economics/special/UrbanForests.pdf

Alvey, A. A. (2006). Promoting and preserving biodiversity in the urban forest. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 5(4), 195-201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2006.09.003

Andrada, R., & Deng, J. (2010). Enjoying Green Cities: Assessing Visitors’ Attitudes and Preferences for Urban Forests in Washington, D.C. Proceedings of the 2010 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium, 168-174. Retrieved from https://www.nrs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/gtr/gtr-p-94papers/25andrada-p94.pdf 

Aronson, M., Christopher, F. J., Lepczyk, A., Evans, K. L., Goddard, M. A., Lerman, S. B., . . . Vargo, T. (2017.) Biodiversity in the city: key challenges for urban green space management. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 15(4), 189-196. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.1480

Bartens, J., Day, S. D., Harris, J. R., Dove, J. E., & Wynne, T. M. (2008). Can Urban Tree Roots Improve Infiltration through Compacted Subsoils for Stormwater Management?. Journal of Environmental Quality Abstract – Bioremediation and Biodegradation, 37(6), 2048-2057. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18948457/

Berland, A., Shiflett, S. A., Shuster, W. D., Garmestani, A. S., Goddard, H. C.,. . .Hopton, M. E. (2017). The role of trees in urban stormwater management. Landscape and Urban Planning, 162, 167-177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2017.02.017

Brandt, L., Derby Lewis, A., Fahey, R., Scott, L., Darling, L., Swanston, C. (2016). A framework for adapting urban forests to climate change. Environmental Science & Policy, 66, 393-402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2016.06.005

Colinas, J., Bush, P., & Manaugh, K. (2018). The socio-environmental impacts of public urban fruit trees: A Montreal case-study. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. In press, corrected proof. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2018.05.002

Cooper Marcus, C. (2007). Healing Gardens in Hospitals. Interdisciplinary Design and Research, 1(1). Retrieved from https://www.brikbase.org/sites/default/files/Healing%20Gardens%20in%20Hospitals.pdf

Edmondson, J. L., Stott, I., Davies, Z. G., Gaston, K. J., & Leake, J. R. (2016). Soil surface temperatures reveal moderation of the urban heat island effect by trees and shrubs. Scientific Reports, 6. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep33708

Escobedo, F. J., Adams, D. C., & Timilsina, N. (2015). Urban forest structure effects on property value. Ecosystem Services, 12, 209-217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.05.002

Kardan, O., Gozdyra, P., Misic, B., Moola, F., Palmer, L. J., Paus, T., & Berman, M. G. (2015). Neighborhood greenspace and health in a large urban center. Scientific Reports, 5. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/srep11610

Kuo, F. E. (2003). Social Aspects of Urban Forestry: the Role of Arboriculture in a Healthy Social Ecology. Journal of Arboriculture, 29(3),148-155. Retrieved from https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/13860

Livesley, S. J., McPherson, E. G., & Calfapietrac, C. (2016). The Urban Forest and Ecosystem Services: Impacts on Urban Water, Heat, and Pollution Cycles at the Tree, Street, and City Scale. Journal of Environmental Quality, 45(1), 119-124. Retrieved from https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2134/jeq2015.11.0567

Miller, R. W., Hauser, R. J., & Werner, L. P. (2015). Urban Forestry: Planning and Managing Urban Greenspaces (3rd ed.). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350249624_Urban_Forestry_Planning_and_Managing_Urban_Greenspaces_Third_Edition

Mok, J.-H., Landphair, H. C., & Naderi, J. R. (2005). Landscape improvement impacts on roadside safety in Texas. Landscape and Urban Planning, 78, 263–274. Retrieved from https://www.naturewithin.info/Roadside/RdsdSftyTexas_L&UP.pdf

Mörtberg, U. M. (2001). Resident bird species in urban forest remnants; landscape and habitat perspectives. Landscape Ecology, 16(3), 193-203. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1011190902041

Mytton, O. T., Townsend, N., Harry Rutter, H., & Foster, C. (2012). Green space and physical activity: An observational study using Health Survey for England data. Health Place, 18(5): 1034-1041. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3444752/

Naderi, J.R. (2003). Landscape Design in the Clear Zone: Effect of Landscape Variables on Pedestrian Health and Driver Safety. Transportation Research Record, 1851, 119-130. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3141/1851-12

Nowak, D. J., Hirabayashi, S., Doyle, M., McGovern. M., & Pasher, J. (2018). Air pollution removal by urban forests in Canada and its effect on air quality and human health. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 29, 40-48. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1618866717302182

Nowak, D. J., Hoehn, R. E., Bodine, A. R., Greenfield, E. J., & O’Neil-Dunne, J. (2016). Urban forest structure, ecosystem services and change in Syracuse, NY. Urban Ecosystems, 19(4) 1455-1477. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-013-0326-z

Parker, T. S. (2018). Trees and crime in urban areas: recommendations. Forestry Research and Engineering, 2(3), 127-129. https://medcraveonline.com/FREIJ/FREIJ-02-00037.pdf

Price, C. (2003). Quantifying the aesthetic benefits of urban forestry. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 1(3), 123-133. https://doi.org/10.1078/1618-8667-00013

Rahman, M. A., Armson, D., & Ennos, A. R. (2015). A comparison of the growth and cooling effectiveness of five commonly planted urban tree species. Urban Ecosystems, 18(2), 371-389. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-014-0407-7

Sandström, U. G., Angelstam, P., & Mikusiński, G. (2006). Ecological diversity of birds in relation to the structure of urban green space. Landscape and Urban Planning, 77(1-2), 39-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2005.01.004

Schroeder, H. W. (2009). Variations in the perception of urban forest recreation sites. Leisure Sciences, 5(3), 221-230. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490408309513004

Sinnett, D. (2018). Mitigating air pollution and the urban heat island effect: The roles of urban trees. In I. Douglas, D. Goode, M. Houck, & D. Maddox (Eds.), Handbook of Urban Ecology. Routledge. [In Press] Retrieved from https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429506758-56/mitigating-air-pollution-urban-heat-island-effect-danielle-sinnett

Threlfall, C. G., Walker, K., Williams, N. S. G., Hahs, A. K., Mata, L.,. . .Livesley, S. J. (2015). The conservation value of urban green space habitats for Australian native bee communities. Biological Conservation, 187, 240-248. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320715001895

Troy, A., Grove, J. M., & O’Neill-Dunne, J. (2012). The relationship between tree canopy and crime rates across an urban-rural gradient in the greater Baltimore region. Landscape and Urban Planning, 106, 262-270. Retrieved from https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/40701

Tyrväinen, L., Pauleit, S., Seeland, K., & de Vries, S. (2005). Benefits and Uses of Urban Forests and Trees. In C. Konijnendijk, K. Nilsson, Th. B. Randrup, & J. Schipperijn (Eds.), Urban Forests and Trees (81-114). New York: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/3-540-27684-X_5

Ulmer, J. M, Wolf, K. L., Backman, D. R., Tretheway, R. L., Blain, C. J. A., . . . Frank, L. D. (2016). Multiple health benefits of urban tree canopy: The mounting evidence for a green prescription. Health & Place, 42, 54-62. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2016.08.011

Ulrich, R. S. (1992). How design impacts wellness. Healthcare Forum, 35(5), 20-25. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Roger_Ulrich4/publication/13177406_How_Design_Impacts_Wellness/links/54b3afd80cf26833efcea0e3/How-Design-Impacts-Wellness.pdf

Wang, Y. & Akbarib, H. (2016).The effects of street tree planting on Urban Heat Island mitigation in Montreal. Sustainable Cities and Society, 27, 122-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2016.04.013

Westphal, L. (2003). Urban greening and social benefits: a study of empowerment outcomes. Journal of Arboriculture, 29(3), 137-147. Retrieved from https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/14148

Wolf, K. L. (2003). Public response to the urban forest in inner-city business districts. Journal of Arboriculture, 29(3): 117-126. Retrieved from https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/34957

Kuo, F. (2003). The role of arboriculture in a healthy social ecology. Journal of Arboriculture, Vol. 29 (3), pp. 148-155. Retrieved from https://auf.isa-arbor.com/content/29/3/148