Impact/Purpose:

The goal of this project is to build sustainability indicators for urban forests, quantify the value of urban forest, and shed light on the social dynamics of implementing sustainability in large urban areas.

Description:

At a time of increasing concerns for urban sustainability, what are the physical, social, and economic values of urban forests in semi-arid climates where many of the world’s fastest growing cities are located? Although urban forests are increasingly popular to improve environmental quality, little is known about their impacts on greenhouse gas emissions, local air quality, and local temperatures in relation to the urban heat island effect. We also want to understand how complex systems involving urban ecosystems, social organizations and individuals learn and change when provided with scientific information on urban forests, and how this influences the implementation of sustainability at the regional level.

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Project Information:

We will study the Million Trees Initiative in Los Angeles, CA, using an integrated systems approach that combines biology, Earth System Science, remote sensing, geography and economics. We will perform the following tasks: 1) Using remote sensing, map vegetation and its leaf area index (LAI) throughout Los Angeles over time; 2) Conduct in-situ measurements of urban tree function, and overlay meteorological data and concentrations of EPA criteria pollutants; 3) Integrate these data with housing and key urban characteristics in a GIS database; 4) Perform hedonic studies to quantify the impacts of urban forests on the housing market; 5) Define and calculate sustainability indicators for various neighborhoods, in cooperation with city agencies, NGOs, and the public; 6) Observe how these parties use this information and implement sustainability; 7) Document and disseminate our findings.

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