An Analysis of Urban Forest Policy: A Case Study of Three Mid-Size Cities in Southwestern Ontario
Loading...
Authors
Irwin, Maxwell
Date
2019-05-06
Type
thesis
Language
en
Keyword
Urban Forest , policy , analysis , management
Alternative Title
Abstract
Urban forestry provides several benefits from improving the quality of life (Sanesi,
Colangelo, Lafortezza, Calvo, & Davies, 2017), providing economic benefits (Kim,
2016), and improving the quality of our environment (Dwyer, McPherson, Schroeder,
& Rowntree, 1992). Urban forest management plans and other plans and policies are
one way municipalities can manage these resources. In Canada only about 20% of
municipalities have urban forest management plans and they are missing largely in
smaller communities (Bardekjian, Kenney, & Rosen, 2017). Urban forestry is
becoming an incredibly important practice as our climate continues to change. Urban
forests contribute to making our cities more sustainable while reducing their
contributions to climate change (Escobedo, Kroeger, & Wagner, 2011), and reducing
climate change’s impact on the municipality (Dwyer, McPherson, Schroeder, &
Rowntree, 1992). This research examines urban forest management in Guelph,
London, and Waterloo, Ontario by comparing collections of policies related to the
urban forest from each municipality with a modified set of urban forest management
best practices. The original best practices were modified based on a literature review
to ensure that criteria were based on our current understanding of urban forest
management best practices. Based on the comparison of the related policies to the
modified set of best practices the three cities all show some strong policies in some
aspects of urban forest management and are generally headed in the right direction.
Some aspects of urban forest management policy are completely lacking throughout
the three cities in this study and each city, despite their strengths, have room to
improve. Based on this research the trend in Southwestern Ontarian mid size cities
appears to be headed in a positive direction where urban forest management is
improving, some cities are pushing for more and more progressive policies. Even
though there are many positives, urban forest management policies still require
improvement before we can expect to see the full benefit of our urban forests while
fully minimizing the costs associated with urban forest management.
Description
Supervised by Dr. Graham Whitelaw