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Urban Ecology and Nature’s Services Infrastructure: Policy Implications of the Million Trees Initiative of the City of Los Angeles

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Urbanization and Sustainability

Part of the book series: Human-Environment Interactions ((HUEN,volume 3))

Abstract

Cities across the United States have embarked on major tree planting programs for their purported environmental and social benefits. Trees offer a powerful symbol of nature in the city and to advocates of such programs, an obvious measure to improve environmental quality. Yet the science behind the environmental and social benefits remains meager, and in a time of budget austerity, the costs of planting trees and maintaining them are significant. As these programs have been implemented, they have also encountered unexpected resistance from residents. Los Angeles has embarked on a campaign to plant a million new trees to make the city the greenest in the United States. Using this example as a case study, this chapter examines tree planting through a lens of urban sustainability, discussing the challenges of transitioning from a sanitary city model to one of integrating nature’s services to help reduce urban ecological footprints. Moving from a sanitary city (or modernist city) to a sustainable city involves complex changes in the rights and responsibilities of residents and the governance structure alike.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://nrs.fs.fed.us/tools/ufore/local-resources/downloads/UFORE_Summary.pdf(Last accessed: May 4, 2012)

  2. 2.

    The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) was created in 1965 by the merger of 5 organizations: the National Recreation Association, the American Institute of Park Executives, the American Recreation Society, the National Conference on State Parks, and the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums. The NRPA has issued guidelines for park acreages per capita that are widely accepted as fact.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Stephanie Pincetl

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  1. Stephanie Pincetl
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Correspondence to Stephanie Pincetl .

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  1. , School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, S Forest Ave 1151, Tempe, 85287-5402, Arizona, USA

    Christopher G. Boone

  2. , College of Business and Economics, Boise State University, University Dr 1910, Boise, 83725, Idaho, USA

    Michail Fragkias

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Pincetl, S. (2013). Urban Ecology and Nature’s Services Infrastructure: Policy Implications of the Million Trees Initiative of the City of Los Angeles. In: Boone, C., Fragkias, M. (eds) Urbanization and Sustainability. Human-Environment Interactions, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5666-3_5

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