Given that over 50% of the global population lives in cities, addressing urban issues is critical to Cornell’s ability to foster regional, national, and global sustainability. New York State, with an urban population of 80%, exemplifies the common paradox wherein cities have extreme environmental footprints extending well beyond their boundaries, yet often are leaders in proposing sustainability programs. For example, Mayor Bloomberg’s MillionTreesNYC initiative (MTNYC) is the largest of a growing number of urban tree planting efforts in the US, and has the potential to serve as a model for how to engage citizens in sustainability initiatives with both social and ecological outcomes. Although the focus of the Mayor’s initiative is the actual planting of trees, a Research and Evaluation Advisory Board Subcommittee has been established to identify related research needs. We propose to work closely with this group, and with UNESCO’s NYC office, to help define a MTNYC research agenda that will provide the starting point for Cornell proposals developed in partnership with government, non-profit, and industry partners, with the purpose of examining the ecological and social dimensions of urban tree planting and of related urban sustainability initiatives. See the full funded proposal here. See the MillionTrees NYC Green Infrastructure and Urban Ecology: Building a Research Agenda final report here. See a poster describing activities here. |
CCSF Urban Trees for Sustainability Project
Cornell Communities & Urban Forests (CCUF) Program
