Canopy Cities: Protecting and Expanding Urban Forests

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the essential role of trees and forests in cities and examines the creative approaches cities around the world are taking to protect trees and expand their urban forests.

Moving beyond the view that trees are luxuries and therefore non-essential to the life of a city, the book examines urban tree policies and approaches that foster tree protection, including tree codes and bylaws, and calls for greater community engagement to preserve this important facet of urban life. Through an international range of examples and case studies, featuring cities in the United States, Canada, Singapore, the Netherlands, Australia, France, New Zealand, Mexico, Sierra Leone, and the United Kingdom. The book offers best practice examples where trees have been further integrated into the fabric of urban planning and design, including forested towers, interior rainforests, tiny urban forests, and metropolitan forests.

Written by a leading authority in the field, this is a fascinating read for researchers, students, and practitioners in urban planning, landscape architecture, and environmental policy and planning.

Timothy Beatley is the founder and executive director of Biophilic Cities, which coordinates a global network of partner cities working collectively to conserve and celebrate nature in urban spaces. He is a professor of sustainable communities in the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, School of Architecture at the University of Virginia.