Protecting the urban forest: Variations in standards and sustainability dimensions of municipal tree preservation ordinances

Abstract

Trees help create sustainable urban systems by providing important functions aligned with the three dimensions of sustainability, i.e., environment, economy, and society. Yet urban forest loss remains a problem in expanding metropolitan regions. To accrue urban forest services, municipalities have enacted tree preservation ordinances (TPO) to regulate tree removal. These ordinances describe not only how cities manage their urban forests but also what urban forest services they value. The goals of this research are to locate cities with TPOs in Texas, compare the scope and intent of these ordinances, and assess the extent to which they reference the sustainability dimensions of urban forest services. We documented the parameters, extent, and conditions of tree protection found in TPOs via descriptive statistics and examined their statements of purpose for references to urban forest services through a quantitative content analysis (QCA). We found 60 municipalities possess TPOs, and most are in rapidly growing metropolitan areas. Our results indicate variations occur in their scope and intent. The majority of TPOs protect trees on private property but many also contain exemptions that potentially limit their effectiveness. Over half of TPOs contained a statement of purpose with references to one or more of the sustainability dimensions of urban forest services. Communities across metropolitan areas place more emphasis on the environment and society dimensions of sustainability. Overall, our results suggest that more communities should enact TPOs with less exemptions, and the sustainability dimensions of urban forests should be explored with equal vigor and stated more clearly so that all stakeholders are equipped with a better argument of not only why to write TPOs but why to enforce them.