The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns have provided a clear demonstration of the powerful public health benefits offered by urban green space.

April 12, 2021  |  Alec Sabatini

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided fresh insight into the public health benefits of urban forests, and further strengthened the case for urban green space to be considered critical infrastructure.

While human health is widely accepted as one of the many benefits of urban forests, positive public health impacts are often harder to quantify and extrapolate compared to other benefits like stormwater reduction or energy savings. The more intuitive and quantifiable nature of these benefits can lead them to have a larger influence in urban forest management decisions.

However, as data collected during this pandemic shows, public health is a major asset of well-maintained urban forests and should not be undervalued during forest management planning.

Increased Urban Forest Visitation

As lockdown restrictions started in the Spring of 2019 visitation to urban green spaces began to increase around the globe. The rise in usage varied nationally and regionally, with some parks seeing double the amount of visitors while areas with the strictest lockdown regulations did see periodic drops in visitation.

This influx of visitors included new groups of users who did not previously frequent forests, parks, or gardens, including more younger visitors and families with children.

This visitor spike can partially be explained by an increase in free time, as many had commute times disappear with a transition to working from home. The other likely motivation was that people began to seek out urban green space to reduce the negative impacts caused by the stress of quarantine and the pandemic.

Urban forests and other natural areas were often the only safe communal recreation space left open. People were drawn to urban green spaces as a vital source of diversion and decompression.

Perceptions of Urban Forests Changed Too

Not only are more people visiting urban green spaces, but their attitude towards such spaces are changing as well. One survey from New York City showed 80% of respondents consider urban parks as very or extremely important for physical health, and an even higher percentage (88%) for mental health. In the same survey, “trees/shade” was ranked as the second most important park feature after “places to walk/trails”.

Another survey found that over 80% of participants had increased or significantly increased the value they put on urban forests and other natural areas. It is clear that substantial portions of the public are looking at urban forests in a new and valuable way.

That behavior shift can and should be capitalized on by forestry departments looking to grow their public engagement presence and to build support for expanded forestry programs. Surveys have shown an increase in the public’s prioritization of green space as a service by local governments and a growing willingness to join a movement advocating for more green space.

Pandemic Lessons for Urban Forest Management

While the unique circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic are thankfully temporary, there are some important lessons that urban forest managers should take into account moving forward.

Public Health and Tree Planting Prioritization

In determining the ideal location for new tree plantings it is important to identify which areas should be prioritized to best address the issues at hand. Within the context of an Urban Tree Canopy Assessment, planting prioritization is usually informed by several layers of geospatial data, such as air quality, energy savings potential, and impermeable surface area.

The optimal planting space for stormwater reduction will often focus on adjacent impervious surfaces while proximity to homes and businesses is better for energy savings. Planting prioritization for public health may require focusing on different areas, i.e. larger, publicly accessible greenspace that can be used for social interaction and exercise.

The point being, planting prioritization can look quite different depending on which factors are being focused on. Urban forest managers and arborists should keep this in mind as they consider what the most pressing needs of their communities are during forest management planning.

Supporting Urban Forests Around the World

PlanIT Geo™ specializes in supporting urban forest management with evidence-based solutions, including prioritizing the planting areas that best serve your community’s needs and goals.