Location

This class is divided into three parts. During the first hour, we will review the origins and meaning of tree planting in the public landscape of European cities from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. We will then turn our attention to North America where we trace the roots of urban forestry in the U.S. from the nineteenth century to the present. The second half of the class will focus on urban forest management as it has played out in Baltimore, Maryland since 1912 – the year the city passed its first street tree ordinance. Drawing on recent research conducted in support of the Long-Term Ecological Research – Baltimore Ecosystem Study (LTER-BES) we will examine a broad range of topics relating to present-day urban forest management. More specifically, we will consider urban trees as providers of ecosystem services; examine the social, cultural, and economic benefits (and costs) of expanding urban tree canopy; and explore social and environmental justice issues tied to the uneven and inequitable distribution of trees.