Tree, Crime and Climate Change

Is it possible that a simple tree in the city could address climate change and the growing inequality between rich and poor? Seems too good to be true but its not. Check out this story on the super powers of the urban forest.

As scientists and social planners are discovering, trees are far more than mere ornaments to the urban landscape. The urban forest is a powerful force for social and environmental change. Trees reduce air and water pollution, save energy, increase property values, and improve the social networks that are the backbone of a healthy city.

A recent study in Baltimore by Morgan Grove of the US Forest Service shows that neighborhoods with higher tree cover had stronger social connections, and residents had a significantly lower desire to move away, presumably because trees increase the attractiveness of the area.

A landmark Harvard University study of a dozen Chicago neighborhoods found only one variable that explained lower crime rates in otherwise virtually identical communities: the extent of social cohesion. The critical factor is “people’s willingness to look out for each other and especially for each other’s children,” according to the study, which pointed to an urban garden as emblematic of the sort of neighborhood collective action that is at the core of increased public safety.

The data suggest that community tree planting projects in cities across the country are a crucial component in building safe urban neighborhoods. The available evidence also suggests that social and environmental transformations in cities are inextricably linked.