Greening Sydney: attitudes, barriers and opportunities for tree planting. Issue 4 (1st October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Saldarriaga, Natalia; Shrestha, Krishna K.; McManus, Phil; Bajracharya, Ayusha
• Is Part Of: Australian geographer. Volume 51:Issue 4(2020)
• Page Start: 469
• Page End: 488
• Publication Date: 2020-10-01
• Subjects: Community attitudes -- socio-economic diversity -- urban forestry -- local environmental governance -- values of trees -- urban sustainability; Geography -- Periodicals; Australia -- Description and travel -- Periodicals; 910
• DOI: 10.1080/00049182.2020.1813948
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0004-9182

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Understanding people's attitudes towards the urban forest is crucial to advance sustainability goals and for proposing policy changes in local governments. With global cities such as Sydney becoming highly multi-cultural, it is vital for local governments in cities to be responsive to the diverse voices and interests of their residents. This paper investigates attitudes of people from different socio-economic backgrounds and thereby identifies barriers and opportunities for tree planting. Analysing two socio-economically diverse local government areas (LGAs) in Sydney, viz . Parramatta and North Sydney, this paper demonstrates that residents' attitudes towards trees depends largely on tree location. Trees located on private land, are preferred for aesthetics and functionality (e.g. beauty and privacy), and trees are removed if they represent a threat to residents' health or infrastructure. Trees located on public land are appreciated because people prefer to live along a tree-lined street where aesthetic and environmental values of trees are paramount. The above attitudes vary with income, education and dwelling type. Findings from this study suggest that local governments must engage effectively with socio-economically diverse populations and recognise different attitudes of communities in policies and practices for managing urban greenery.