Greening Without Displacement: The USDA’s Urban Forestry Approach

Key Takeaways:

• The urban heat island effect makes city temperatures 1-7°F warmer than their surrounding natural environments because of the built environment’s increased ability to absorb solar heat. Higher temperatures increase health risks and power bills.
• Vegetation has high solar ultraviolet reflectance and releases water vapor through evapotranspiration. On a sunny day, the evapotranspiration of just one tree has a cooling effect equivalent to at least 10 air conditioners.
• Environmental gentrification occurs when large-scale urban greening projects or environmental improvements raise surrounding property values, resulting in gentrification that displaces lower-income residents.
• The Urban and Community Forestry Program of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service (USFS) is the only federal program that focuses on preserving and increasing urban and community trees, forests, and green spaces by supporting local sustainable greening initiatives.

Today, over 80% of Americans live in urban areas, and that figure is only growing. Cities are following this growth by expanding urban green spaces such as parks, community gardens, urban trees, and green roofs. Urban green spaces provide communities with economic, social, and environmental benefits. For example, urban gardens provide healthy produce to neighborhood residents, which is crucial in food deserts where people have limited access to affordable and nutritious food. Parks provide a community space for social and cultural activities and even reduce the rate of depression in surrounding communities. Trees provide shade, improve air quality, prevent flooding, and improve stream health, boosting revenue from fishing, tourism, and recreation industries.

In particular, trees help reduce the urban heat island effect, which raises city temperatures by 1-7°F compared to their surroundings because built environments have a high solar heat absorption rate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the annual rate of heat-related deaths is highest in large urban areas compared to all other land types. By adding green spaces, cities can directly combat the heat island effect since vegetation has high solar UV reflectance and releases water vapor through evapotranspiration. On a sunny day, the evapotranspiration of just one tree has a cooling effect equivalent to at least 10 air conditioners. Speaking of cooling, higher urban temperatures also increase energy consumption from air conditioning, leading to more greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

However, green space development can potentially negatively impact surrounding populations. Modern urban greening projects are often land-intensive and targeted towards upper-class demographics. In these cases, green spaces are not always equitably distributed and do not necessarily benefit all community members. “Environmental gentrification” occurs when large-scale urban greening projects or environmental improvements raise surrounding property values, resulting in gentrification by displacing lower-income residents.

Environmental gentrification is not an inevitable result of urban greening projects. If green spaces are developed mindfully and equitably, they can not only avoid gentrification but can also foster a space for diversity and democracy in American cities. Instead of prioritizing public and tourist appeal, a more modest, smaller-scale approach that involves community participation in decision-making is necessary to ensure the equitable distribution of green spaces.

The Urban and Community Forestry Program of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service (USFS) is the only federal program that focuses on preserving and increasing community trees, forests, and green spaces. Since 1978, this program has supported local initiatives using green spaces and other nature-based solutions to address economic, social, and environmental challenges in all 50 states. The Urban and Community Forestry Program was funded at $1.5 billion in 2023 through the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169) and has otherwise been funded at $36 to $40 million annually.

The Urban and Community Forestry Program has been put to use across the country, including, for example, in New Jersey. The state has a tree canopy cover of 44%. That represents over 152 million trees removing almost one million metric tons of carbon and over 30,000 metric tons of harmful air pollutants every year. However, its tree canopy is not uniformly distributed across the state. New Jersey’s urban areas such as Newark, Trenton, and Camden average 7.6%, 12.5%, and 8.1% tree canopy cover, respectively. Additionally, neighborhoods of color have around half as much canopy as historically white, higher-income communities. This leaves lower-income communities of color vulnerable to the consequences of a lack of urban forest, such as higher rates of disease and injury caused by air pollution, flooding, and extreme heat.

The New Jersey Tree Foundation (NJTF) received a $4.2 million Urban and Community Forestry Program grant in 2023, which aims to put community residents at the center of the foundation’s mission in order to increase green spaces in marginalized communities. NJTF plants trees only where they are invited to ensure that the community will support the health of the trees planted. Once trees are planted, volunteer residents sign a two-year maintenance agreement that explains how to care for the trees, and NJTF provides them with free tools and training. By working slowly and steadily, NJTF has planted over 257,000 trees across the state in its 17 years of work (that’s more than 40 trees a day!).

The Urban and Community Forestry Program has also seen success in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit experienced a massive tree die-off following its economic recession, with over half a million trees dying since 1950. This tree cover loss resulted in decreased shade and shelter, increased flooding, and increased urban heat. With $9.7 million of funding from the Urban and Community Forestry Program in 2023, the grassroots organization The Greening of Detroit has been working to restore Detroit’s green spaces while providing jobs for residents.

The Greening of Detroit was founded to meet the needs of the neighborhoods most hurt by the economic downturn while developing the skills of individuals who previously faced socioeconomic or racial barriers to employment. The nonprofit ensures that the benefits from green spaces stay within the communities that need them most through its green workforce development program, the Detroit Conservation Corps. In this eight-week program, participants receive a stipend, workplace skill development, safety training, and academic refreshers. So far, 50 program graduates have been hired by the City of Detroit’s General Services Department, and hundreds more work in private-sector forestry positions. The Greening of Detroit engages with communities in need of green spaces to ensure the sustainability and equity of their greening projects.

As the success of organizations like The Greening of Detroit and the New Jersey Tree Foundation demonstrates, urban greening can be a powerful tool for fostering social, economic, and environmental resilience when approached with equity at its core. By prioritizing community involvement, long-term stewardship, and workforce development, cities—partnered with longstanding federal programs like the USDA Urban and Community Forestry Program—can ensure that green spaces have lasting benefits for existing residents instead of causing their displacement.

Author: Whitney Orloff