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Urban forests, trees and greenspace are critical in contemporary planning and development of the city. Their study is not only a question of the growth and conservation of green spaces, but also has social, cultural and psychological dimensions. Urban Forests, Trees and Greenspace brings a perspective of political ecology to the complexities of urban trees and forests through four themes: policy and governance; history, culture and identity; environmental justice and social inclusion; and urban forest and greenspace engagement and education. Contributors include leading authorities from North and South America and Europe from a range of disciplines, including forestry, ecology, geography, landscape design, municipal planning, environmental policy and environmental history.
Introduction L. Anders Sandberg, Adrina Bardekjian, and Sadia Butt
Part 1: Theoretical Perspectives
1. Urban Forests are Social Nature: Political, Economic, and Social Processes Challenge Environmental Justice in 21st Century Cities Harold Perkins, University of Ohio, USA
2. Places of Trees: Affective Embodiment, Identity and Materiality Owain Jones, University of Gloucestershire, UK
3. From Government to Governance: Urban Forests as New Commons Cecil van den Bosch (formerly Konijnendijk), University of Copenhagen, Denmark
4. Order and Disorder in the Urban Forest: A Foucauldian-Latourian Perspective Irus Braverman, University of Buffalo, USA
5. Posthumanist Histories: Trees Behaving Badly Joanna Dean, Carleton University, Canada
6. Queering the Urban Forest: The Ecological Ethics and Politics of Arboreal Entanglement Darren Patrick, York University, Canada
7. Accounting for Institutions and Law in Urban Forest Political Ecology: A Comparative Approach Blake Hudson, Louisiana State University, USA
Part 2: Case Studies
8. Three Shades of Green: Singapore's Shift from Urban Green Space Government to Governance Natalie Gulsrud and Can Seng Ooi, University of Copenhagen and Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
9. A Genealogy of Urban Forest Discourse in Flanders, Belgium Ann Van Herzele, Vrije University, Belgium
10. Constructing New York City's Urban Forest: The Politics and Governance of the MillionTreesNYC Campaign Lindsay Campbell, USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Rutgers University, USA
11. High and Low, West and East: Four Arboricultures of the Tokyo Metropolis Jay Bolthouse, University of Tokyo, Japan
12. The Places of Trees in Honduras: Contributions of Smallholders and Public Spaces Joby Bass, University of Southern Mississippi, USA
13. The Urban Biodiversity Park in Guraon, India: Depoliticizing a Landscape of Privilege Shubhra Gururani, York University, Canada
Part 3: Actions and Interventions
14. Cultivating Citizen Stewards: Lessons from Formal and Non-formal Educators Greg Smith, Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education & Counseling, USA
15. Seeking Citizenship: The Norway Maple in Canada Brendon Larson, University of Waterloo, Canada
16. Stimulating, Facilitating and Coordinating Landscape Action: The Role of Landscape Ambassadors Helena Mellqvist, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
17. "A Few Trees" in Gezi Park: Resisting the Spatial Politics of Neoliberalism in Turkey Bengi Akbulut, Bogazici University, Turkey
18. A Return to the Garden? The Green Roof at the Canadian Embassy in Berlin Cynthia Hammond, Concordia University, Canada
19. A Step, A Stitch, A Sense of Self: Woods Walking as an Artist's Path to Creating Identity Kathleen Vaughan, Concordia University, Canada
20. Promoting Green Space in Cape Town, South Africa: The Role of the African Centre for Cities Pippin Anderson, University of Cape Town, South Africa
L. Anders Sandberg is a Professor, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, Canada.
Adrina Bardekjian is a PhD Candidate, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, and an Urban Forestry Researcher, Writer and Educator, based in Ontario, Canada. She has professional experience as a project manager and consultant for Trees Canada and Trees Ontario.
Sadia Butt is a PhD Candidate, Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, Canada. Her professional experience includes working for the Forestry Department of the City of Mississauga and the Niagara Peninsular Project.
"This book is the first to use the lens of political ecology to understand urban forests and finally provide us with a much needed politicized view of these spaces, based on case studies from around the globe."
– Guy Baeten, Lund University, Sweden
"This wonderful volume incorporates new theoretical ground in the field of political ecology. Diverse chapters bring nuanced and balanced attention to the social and ecological dynamism that shapes the myriad ways through which urban forests constitute and are constituted by everyday lived experiences, politics, and institutional dynamics of today's cities. Through engaging exploration of diverse cases around the world and their beloved as well as neglected trees, parks, and other spaces, the chapters provide rich analyses of distinctive place- and regionally-oriented histories, changing market and economic dynamics, emergent forms of governance and institutional contexts, and ecological and social complexity, all framed within the central thematic dimension of power."
– Patrick Hurley, Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA, USA
"A collection that makes urban political ecology accessible to a wide readership without losing the sophistication needed to handle the complexity and contradictions of the field. Its compelling narratives stretch from unruly trees and people in diverse cities around the world, to original ways of thinking about nature and the city."
– Alan Mabin, Research fellow, Capital Cities project, University of Pretoria, South Africa
