Cities across the country utilize what are commonly called "urban forests." Without these sparce, scattered oases of verdent greeny the presence of pollution and urban blight are certain to erode the very fabric of urban society.

In cities across Oregon and Washington states, both urban and rural
streets are lined on either side with pine, oak and maple trees. In
northern as well as southern California, commercial highways and
suburban streets are graced most often with palm, eucalyptus and elm
trees and other indigious plant growth such as bitterbush, sedges,
sagebrush, manzanita, creosote and encelia bushes.

These and other native flora which are planted along city streets,
within local parks and recreational centers, and in and around public
buildings, beaches and even indoor shopping malls all make up what is
commonly termed an Urban Forest. But what exactly is an urban
forest and how does it impact on the environment and our daily lives?

To begin with, urban forests are all around us and accessible 24 hours a
day, 365 days a year to everyone including city residents, tourists and
those who works in or out of doors. Urban forests provide a natural
environment to our urban ecology and help improve the quality of life.
They are important for cooling the urban environment by providing shade
along sidewalks, streets and buildings, in providing habitat for urban
wildlife and for improving the visual quality of our streets and
neighborhoods. Urban forests also reduce noise levels and help clean
the air by removing and storing carbon dioxide, the gas that contributes
to the greenhouse effect.

Urban trees make cities more livable by providing a pleasing, restful
and healthy environment. They even increase the value of real estate
and help us save money in living expenses. The American Forestry
Association recently conducted a study which found that on average a
single tree each year can save $73 on air conditioning, $75 in
controlling erosion and storm water, $50 controlling air polution and
another $75 providing wildlife shelter. Compounding this $273 total
savings in one year over 50 years at a 5 percent interest rate, one tree
can save a grand total of $57,151 during its lifetime.

Yet, in the Pacific Northwest, the long, cherished vision of a natural
environment and urban beauty is rapidly fading due to increased
population and urban development. Especially in Oregon and Washington
where millions of new residents have relocated over the last ten years,
the population has grown four times faster than the average developed
nation. Green fields, grassy lawns and forests have given way to
wall-to-wall subdivisions and shopping malls. And sidewalk plants,
trees and other outdoor shrubbery have been replaced with traffic signs,
commerical billboards, vending machines, lighting and telephone
structures, and to huge concrete, plastic and metal statues of
neo-modern art.

In a world of six billion people, the Pacific Northwest is clearly not
alone. Not only in major cities like Seattle, Portland, San Francisco
and San Diego do problems of population growth and urban development
persist and reaten urban forests and the natural environment. In rural
towns and suburban communities across the country similar growth and
real estate development concerns have become an issue; but fortunately
new land use planning laws have kept things from getting worse even
faster.

Focusing upon the Pacific Northwest, in the state of Oregon for example,
the environmental group Alternatives to Growth Oregon (AGO) was recently
created to attack and solve these and other ecological problems. AGO as
well as other environmental organizations in Washington and California
are currently working to make a sustainable population (and control
public and commerical development) the foundation of all government
planning and private sector efforts.

Of course, some real estate contractors, developers and construction
enthusiasts may be well-intentioned in their efforts to provide new
jobs, affordable homes, commercial property and shopping and
recreational facilities to new businesses and growing families. But
legislation is currently underway in both large metropolitan and rural
communities across the Pacific Northwest to put a cap on urban
development and population growth; and this is being accomplished
through education as well as new legislation.

The truth is, growth is not inevitable. Change may be inevitable, but
population and consumption growth are not. And these problems are being
addressed and can be solved, if people are made and kept informed, and
then decide to take a stand. The Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute
(UFEI), located at Cal Poly State University in California, is one such
organization busy analyzing and assessing urban forests and providing
statisical data and resources to both local governments environmental
groups as well as to those who reside in the Pacific Northwest.

UFEI and other environmental groups and private companies know that
growth cannot be stopped overnight, nor can the threat to urban forests
and other nearby eco-systems be solved through legislation alone.
Simply put though, if people are motivated to stop and think--they can
then become part of the solution now underway to protect all our natural
environment.

Trees and other native flora can be protected during construction and
urban development, and even made more plentiful and accessible.
Moreover, every person can contribute to their little parsec of urban
forest by planting, weeding, pruning, rooting and watering new and old
foilage and trees.

In the Pacific Northwest urban jungles have proven to be a compatible
partner to urban forests. Together, both have added and continue to add
to the quality of our busy lives. And today, more than ever, every
person can continue to enjoy this increased quality of life; but more so
by nurturing and cultivating the urban forests located inside and
outside their homes and along the byways and highways of every modern
city.

SOURCE MATERIAL:
http://www.canopy.org/
http://endeavor.des.ucdavis.edu/cnps/
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/photos/flora/
Grants Pass, OR Urban Tree Advisory brochure
http://urbanfor.cagr.calpoly.edu/
http://www.fuf.net/
Encyclopedia Britannica
http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~conferweb/urban.htm
Audubon Society of California
http://www.fire.ca.gov/