Every time I drive a visitor from the station to my house, a distance of 4 kms., he/she never fails to notice or forget the thick woods and tree canopy on either side of the road leading to my home. One experiences a spectacularly memorable sense of arrival. The woods underline the mood of the season, be it colourful autumnal leaves with wafts of mushroom undergrowth, barren branches outlined with frost or snow, a magical play of golden light filtering through translucent lemon-green spring growth, or in the summer, a rich canopy with varied forms in lush greens! Time and again it makes one realise how blessed one is o live in such a green town.
Emmen (Netherlands) is set within 1224 hectares of woodlands, with a rich tapestry of old oaks, birches and chestnuts within the centre of the town. These were planted since the 1850s (and into the 1930s) to cover the sandy areas so that farms were protected from the sand intruding into their land. The historic woodland was retained further during the planning and development of Emmen in the 20th century. The woodlands are now a cultural and historic heritage.
Atlanta City in USA is another such example of a green city, rightly named ‘City in a Forest’ with 47.9% of its area covered with high-quality natural forest around and within.
Climate changes, global warming, cloudbursts, storm surges and floods and extreme heatwaves that are shaping our world now, have created a sense of hyper urgency to address these issues in city and suburban developments. The pressure of creating maximum built up spaces for the masses migrating to urban areas is real. But so are the other factors shaping our future. Addressing climatic, social, psychological and wellness issues in the living spaces we design has become crucial.
Trees have been, and will always be, a redeeming factor that will shape our comfort zones in the future.
Why are trees/urban forestation so important for us? The environmental impact of trees is as never before, taking centre stage. It lowers urban temperatures by blocking shortwave radiation; strategic clusters of trees can cool temperatures by nearly 8%, thereby reducing use of air conditioners by 30%, thus saving energy. It creates microclimates, reduces pollution and is effective in carbon sequestration, thereby reducing global warming. The root structures and absorption by trees not only slows down flash flooding, but also helps soil conservation, charge underground aquifers and protect watershed zones. We should not undermine the importance of retaining existing mangroves in coastal areas.
Trees can also be factored in for nutrient rich food and medicinal produce for city areas as an additional role in urban forestation. While planning, we also need to cultivate biodiversity in the forestation for the retention of fauna and beneficial insects. The seasonal changes that trees can accentuate, has a proven positive psychological impact on otherwise enclosed, hard-surfaced living areas. Humanity’s reaction to the changing colours of Japanese maples or to Japanese cherry blossoms instill in us a festive mood. As seen in Pretoria, South Africa, the extensive Jacaranda avenues are mood creators and enhancers that have become iconic symbols and characterise the city internationally.
As we live more and more in inner city confines, large spaces of urban forests can give the citizens opportunities to escape quickly to a quiet, meditative green canopy. The Japanese tradition of Shirin-yoku or ‘forest bathing’ introduced in 1982, to reduce stress-related diseases has proved to be beneficial. Not only is forest air, as we all know fresher and better, inhaling phytoncide (the essential oils released by woods, plants, fruit) boosts immunity. A recent experiment in the Netherlands, wherein youth with disturbed sleep patterns were taken to stay a long weekend in a wooded area, resulted in their sleep patterns improving in just a few days. Research and experiments have shown that even 30-minute visits to forested areas is known to reduce cortisol levels, pulse rates, stress hormones, blood pressure, sympathetic nerve activity, that otherwise in city environments have negative effects on the physical and mental health. So, the health benefits to city dwellers will be enormous.
Psychologically, being in a forested area reduces depression and hostility and encourages liveliness. So, we can say urban forests will be the healing and therapeutic units within cities. On a fiscal level, green cities have the possibility to attract more investments, environmentally aware citizens, jobs and can become centres of innovation and creativity.
There is a global movement underway that is encouraging more urban forests in different countries. Organisations like Trees for Cities in the UK are encouraging trees to be planted in cities and on private lands along with awareness of its social and environmental impact. Coming back to Atlanta, USA, the organisation Trees Atlanta, founded in 1985, works tirelessly to address Atlanta’s tree loss, protect its forests and create new green spaces. Empowered by its wonderful community of volunteers, Trees Atlanta serves the metro Atlanta area and has grown to become one of Atlanta’s most widely known and supported non-profit organisations. It is a nationally recognised non-profit citizens’ group that protects and improves Atlanta’s urban forests by planting, conserving and educating. A resident with whom I spoke to, said this:
“I moved my family from Los Angeles to Atlanta in February of 2010. Having grown up in LA, the massive concrete jungle, one of the first things that I noticed about Atlanta is how green the place looks, especially from above! I have always loved living in urban areas, but the feeling of life that exists in the green areas of Atlanta brings a truly unique and pleasant aspect to this city that I have not seen in most other major cities.”
Another inspiring initiative, Treepedia, was launched by MIT’s Senseable Lab, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, (Global Agenda Council on Future of Cities) to map the green canopies in cities around the world. They have developed a Green View Index, to compute the green cover of a city (streets mostly), using Google Street View panoramas.
Initiatives and the responsibility for creating urban forests in the first stage should be the responsibility of the city planners, architects and forest departments. The second tier participation should ideally be a bottom up, rather than a top down approach to be a success. That would require awareness programmes, active citizen participation coupled with crowdfunding and corporate sponsorship. Before governments pass policies that trickle down to the state or city level for implementation, which would be a long time frame, citizens can kick-start the process faster with more coordinated activities. Not only is planting trees important, but planning for and making sure of their survival is just as crucial. Treated wastewater could be used for irrigation, thereby reducing wastewater disposal issues.
‘Smrutivan’ is a concept I came across years ago in Pune, wherein families can create a living memorial for a dear one that has passed away by planting a tree.
Mr. Rajendra Shende of Terre Policy Centre based in Pune has taken up that theme further where besides the family planting and paying for the plantation costs, they are encouraged to also go down on weekends to care for and nurture the tree to ensure its growth and survival. The forest department, with their knowledge of local species along with their services and infrastructure, has been harnessed to make it a success.
There are numerous possibilities to make urban forests a living, verdant reality given the attention it is getting globally. As more and more people begin to care and value the quality of their work and living spaces, this would be the way forward to the future of liveable cities.
Sumitra Naren is active as a consultant in the organic food sector and related sustainable technologies. She works in both the EU and India as director of SNConsultancy.
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