Urban Forestry InsightsTrees can help reduce deaths attributed to the urban heat island effect

A new study by ISGlobal estimates that increasing urban tree coverage could prevent one third of deaths caused by summer heat Over 4% of deaths in cities during the summer months are due to urban heat islands, and one third of these deaths could be prevented by reaching a tree cover of 30%, according to …

Urban Forestry InsightsCan technology help us assess our city’s greenery?

Photo credit: Ignacio Brosa (Unsplash) People need and want nature in their lives. Our technological advancement has made us blind to the changes that happen in our cities. The road to industrial development has led to a decrease in green infrastructure inside cities. While a country or city may have a high green space per …

Urban Forestry InsightsWho are the innovators plugging into the “Internet of Nature”?

Photo credit: Annie Spratt (Unsplash) An opinion piece by Dr. Nadina Galle While many are willing to write off technology as the antithesis of nature, I’m swimming against this current. I’m on a mission to uncover discrete technologies as groundbreaking tools to proactively manage greenery, increase access to the outdoors, and connect children and their …

Urban Forestry InsightsSuccessful urban forestry needs evidence and guidance

Photo credit: Cecil Konijnendijk In summer 2022 it was two years ago that the Nature Based Solutions Institute was set up by Johan Östberg and Cecil Konijnendijk. Both had experience from both academia and consultancy. From working with cities, national governments, and international organisations in over 30 countries, they had started to see the need …

Urban Forestry InsightsThe potential of remote sensing in urban forest inventory

Photo credit: Freepik A new way of quantifying and monitoring Urban Forest dynamics Nowadays, remote sensing is one of the most important technologies for forest inventories. The availability of open data from Copernicus constellation and national programs of aerial photogrammetry capture and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) has allowed the development of new urban forest …

Urban Forestry InsightsA Romanian perspective on Urban Forestry

Urban forestry insights from the Transilvania University of Brasov Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering within Transilvania University of Brasov is the oldest forestry higher education institution in Romania, having therefore extended expertise in forestry, including urban forests.  Urban Forests management, as any forest management, is based on a roadmap that creates a shared vision …

Urban Forestry InsightsUrban Forests: nature in a small pot

Reflections on Barcelona’s Green Infrastructure The European Commission defined green infrastructure as a strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas, designed and managed to provide a wide range of ecosystem services. It can substantially improve the environmental conditions of cities and, consequently, life quality of citizens. Although the backbone of European green infrastructure is …

Urban Forestry InsightsEducating the future urban foresters

City of Trees – An inspirational package for pre-teens on the benefits of Urban Forests and urban trees Cities worldwide are facing environmental problems and commit towards a more sustainable development. To achieve this, we have to change the way we organise our societies. Education is a prerequisite for this change. Today, helping students to …

Urban Forestry InsightsUrban forestry interventions in Italy: between technical administrative procedures and implementation

What are the administrative procedures involving an urban forestry project? How is the administrative work – indispensable from seed to tree – organised? While the technical aspects of urban and periurban forestry are commonly known by technicians, the administrative work behind it is often less familiar. With no claim of being exhaustive, in this article …

Urban Forestry InsightsInnovative buildings for more sustainable cities

Architects and urban planners around the world are trying to find innovative solutions to bring nature back to cities. With more and more people becoming aware of the benefits of nature in everyday’s life, the need for vegetation and green spaces in urban areas is increasing. Creating parks and greenways might seem like the most …