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Strategically chosen and located trees shade buildings, cool urban heat islands, and minimize conflicts with utility and other infrastructure such as power lines and sidewalks. These same trees reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide, remove air pollutants, reduce flooding and water pollutants, raise property values, and increase retail sales. They also calm traffic, reduce noise and reduce crime. And they are perhaps one of the few urban infrastructure assets that actually appreciate in value over time. Trees Make Places Trees help create places where people want to be. They are one of the defining elements that make places inviting and memorable.
Outdoor Room
Cool Neighborhoods
Stormwater Management
Urban Forestry Factsheets and GuidelinesThe many benefits of urban trees and forest cover are highlighted in a free fact sheet prepared by the LGC in both English and Spanish to help local officials, their staff and other community leaders understand and communicate the value of urban trees. "Livable Communities and Urban Forests" Factsheet Developed by the LGC and the Center for Urban Forest Research and Education, we also have tree selection and planting guidelines for the San Joaquin Valley, Southern Coastal California, and the Inland Empire available in the "Energy" section of our Bookstore, Research and ExamplesQuantified Environmental and Economic Benefits The USDA Forest Service Center for Urban Forest Research in Davis, California has developed a tree guidelines series covering many of the major climate regions of the U.S. Each guidebook is based on extensive research quantifying the impact of different tree species in each region. Summary tables of the energy, air and water quality, stormwater runoff, and property value impacts are included. In each case, with costs factored in (planting, maintenance, infrastructure repair, administration, etc.), the benefits in dollar terms far outweigh the costs on an annual basis. The Center plans to develop guidelines to cover all major climate regions of the U.S. Go to the Center website (http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/programs/cufr/) for the tree guides and much more. Neighborhood Revitalization and Increased Property Values From 1995 to 2002, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society partnered with the New Kensington Community Development Corporation to address blight in the Philadelphia neighborhood and develop a vacant-land management plan for the community. The goal was to improve the area's appearance and help stem population loss, attract new residents, and encourage reinvestment. The partners created a comprehensive greening program that included "stabilizing" vacant lots (clearing debris and installing fencing and trees), creating community gardens, planting trees, renovating parks, and transferring vacant lots to adjacent homeowners for private use. The results included 480 newly planted trees, 145 settled side yards, 217 stabilized lots, and 15 community gardens. An extensive University of Pennsylvania study measuring the impact of the greening investments found significant increases in the value of individual homes near cleaned lots, streets trees, and parks. A tree planted within 50 feet of a house could increase its value by about 9%. Overall, tree plantings alone accounted for an increase of about $4 million in the total value of property in the community, while cleaned and greened lots increased the total value by $12 million. For more information, read their "Seeing
Green" article. Crime Reduction A study of public housing residents in Chicago shows that trees can play an important role in reducing urban violence. University of Illinois researchers analyzed two years of police data on property and violent crimes for 98 apartment buildings. Compared with apartment buildings that had little or no greenery, buildings with high levels of greenery had 52 percent fewer total crimes including 48 percent fewer property crimes and 56 percent fewer violent crimes. Buildings with medium amounts of greenery had 42 percent fewer total crimes, including 40 percent fewer property crimes and 44 percent fewer violent crimes. The study’s authors explain that greenery helps people to relax and renew, reducing aggression. Green spaces bring people together outdoors. Their presence increases surveillance and discourages criminals. The green and groomed appearance of an apartment building is a cue that owners and residents care about a property, and watch over it and each other. For more information, visit the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Human-Environment Research Laboratory web site at: www.herl.uiuc.edu/ Improved Business Trees add to the prosperity of downtowns and neighborhood commercial areas. People tend to shop longer and more often, and are willing to pay more for goods and services when there are more trees. This can help produce the competitive edge needed for main street store success in competition with plaza discount store prices. Studies also indicate that landscaping adds to the dollar value and sales appeal of commercial real estate, and boosts office occupancy rates. Go to the University of Washington Human Dimensions of Urban Forestry and Urban Greening web site (http://www.cfr.washington.edu/research.envmind/) for more information . Stormwater Management Seattle and Portland are both combining innovative street, parking lot and other landscaped area design strategies with tree plantings to reduce stormwater runoff and preserve water quality. Go to the following web sites for more:
Policy Initiative: Sacramento Tree Foundation Greenprint Program The Sacramento Tree Foundation is working with the elected officials of the Sacrament Area Council of Governments (SACOG) to double the region's tree canopy over the next 40 years. The goal is to maximize the benefits of trees by improving the urban forests in each municipality within the region. The Greenprint is a call to action and a plan of work for each of the 28 local governments in the six-county SACOG region to adopt tree canopy goals, policies and ordinances, best management practices, and community involvement strategies. Technical advise from arborists, urban foresters, landscape architects, engineers, and policy makers contributed to a series of best strategies and guiding principles for the final draft Greenprint policy document. To date, 22 cities and four counties Twenty-six SACOG jurisdictions have signed on to the Greenprint. For more information, vist the Sacramento Tree Foundation's Greenprint web site (http://www.sactree.com/aboutUs/programsServices/greenprint/greenprintOverview.html). Other Resources
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Trees
are a hallmark of great streets. They provide a sense of enclosure that makes residents, pedestrians
and bicyclists feel they are part of an outdoor living room. These are streetscapes where the
relationship between trees, parkways, sidewalks, yards and homes are human-scaled while allowing
for the movement of cars. Motorists will tend to behave accordingly, maintaining safe speeds
dictated by the streetscape.
Shaded
pavement means cooler neighborhoods, inviting more people to walk, increasing front yard activity
and association. The lower air temperatures reduce energy bills. Well-shaded streets tend to
require re-paving less often since they are shielded from the sun, which contributes to a more
affordable roadway system. 
Trees
absorb up to the first third of most precipitation through their trunk and leaf system. This
moisture never hits the ground. Root structures open otherwise impervious paved surfaces, enabling
infiltration of up to another third of precipitation into the earth, where it can be cleared
of contaminants, absorbed by plant roots and replenish ground water and aquifer resources. Stormwater
runoff and flooding potential to properties is reduced, water is cleaner, and water supplies
are replenished.