Urban Trees As Urban Resilience: A Design Scenario Informs Urban Tree Planting Preferences

Nora Davis (US Forest Service)
Patricia Winter (US Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station)

Tree canopy is critical to urban sustainability. With the majority of plantable space residing on private property in many cities, city residents represent considerable promise in enhancing urban tree canopy. However, challenges surrounding public acceptance and engagement in tree planting and ongoing stewardship remain. To better understand public acceptance of urban trees, visitors to public venues in the City of Los Angeles were invited to ‘plant their street.’ Participants (N~ 200) used a gameboard representing a ‘home’ lot, neighboring residential lots and a park to choose from 8 species of trees, categorized by a key ecosystem service - fruit bearing, flowering, climate adaptive, and those noted as effective in carbon capture. Two conditions were presented using a between subjects design. In the explicit condition, tree labels included the ecosystem service. In the implicit condition the tree name alone was presented. Of particular interest were comparisons of selected tree types, their placement across home, park, and neighboring lots, and variations for the implicit and explicit conditions. Usinga ‘think aloud procedure’ notes and audio recordings captured participants’ remarks, and photographs were taken of the final design for analysis. Findings provide an enriched understanding of urban tree planting preferences and can aid messaging around tree planting programs.