Our Future Environment

This paper claimed that there is an association between the percentage of tree cover and typical activity. Using the behavioral mapping technique helped us understand the current use pattern of Crown Heights sidewalks and the percentage of trees. Using this technique could inform the city about where we can first plant trees where residents are most likely to benefit (from shade for example) because they are already utilizing the space for some other social or natural environment reason. In most parts of the “Green the Cityscape” Open Space plan the city will investigate community initiative and need when deciding on where funds and energy will be spent on public plaza and general greening of the city. The plan does take a holistic approach to planning but it fails to fully integrate the human population into every infrastructure decision. For example, community initiative and need is not mentioned as part of tree planting plans.
The plan’s Initiative 7 hopes to capitalize on the benefits of trees by undertaking an aggressive campaign to plant trees wherever possible and raise the street tree stocking level from 74% to 100% by 2030. Although our results leave us with more questions concerning the high percentage of youth in low tree count areas, our results do suggest a few things the city can consider, they are as follows:
1. Groups are more likely to talk, walk, or play in low tree cover areas but more likely to stand, talk or sit in high tree cover areas. This research found a positive correlation of street activity and high tree cover for adults but a positive correlation of street activity and low tree cover for youth. This difference in activity is worth considering when planting trees ‘wherever possible’.
2. Residents use streets with low tree cover for individual purposes other than social activity and may use them simply as a way to get from point a to point b. In particular to Crown Heights, the areas of low tree cover (See Figures 1 and 2) are anecdotally correlated with commercial and abandoned buildings. Planting trees in these areas with high levels of youth activity could enhance urban quality of life and eventually lead to building repair and commercial stores. It would be interesting to know if tree planting would lead to use of public space by adults in these areas despite few residential buildings. This could be explored through interviews or simply planting more trees in low tree count areas and observing the correlations.
Overall, the city should consider how residents are already using their public space and could use behavioral mapping in a few areas of interest. The data from these studies could then be used to develop important questions for community board meetings that could address resident needs.

Filed under: environmental planning on April 10th, 2008