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Arborists and arguments in the urban forest: a synthesis
Citation
Kirkpatrick, JB and Davison, AG, Arborists and arguments in the urban forest: a synthesis, TREENET Proceedings of the 18th National Street Tree Symposium 2017, 07-08 September, Adelaide, South Australia, pp. 34-40. ISBN 978-0-9942149-4-2 (2017) [Non Refereed Conference Paper]
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Abstract
The framing of urban trees has shifted from adornment or obstruction to a key asset in the delivery of ecological,
economic and social services. This transition has been interwoven with the rise of the profession of arboriculture
from the ashbed of tree lopping and naive nativism. Arborists are working to improve the sustainability of
Australian cities by integrating the management of grey (built) and green {living) infrastructure in a context in
which space for trees is in a severe decline and different segments of the population vary in their attitudes
towards them. On-ground tree managers and residents are more emotionally engaged with trees than planners.
While the general public barely notices the existence of publically employed arboricultural professionals, the
professionals have strong opinions about public attitudes and behaviours related to trees, in particular believing
that the public over-estimates risk. There are four types of potential conflict within and between the public, the
arborists and the planners: between those who see trees as cost-effective machines for achieving urban goals
and those in love with them; between those who have ideological attachments to different types of trees;
between those scared of trees and those sanguine about their risk; and, between adjacent land owners. Our
interviews with tree professionals suggest that the first type of conflict could be avoided by appropriate selection
and management of trees, the second mitigated by consultative planning processes, the third by education of
the public and the fourth by arboricultural advice and legal means. Most tree professionals felt that there was
considerable room for improvement in tree management in cities, but they disagreed strongly on the
effectiveness of different options for tree conservation. The relative effectiveness of the wide variety of
mechanisms used to maintain and enhance tree coverage in Australian cities needs to be determined.
Item Details
Item Type: | Non Refereed Conference Paper |
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Keywords: | urban forest, urban sustainability, trees, arborists |
Research Division: | Human Society |
Research Group: | Human geography |
Research Field: | Social geography |
Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in human society |
UTAS Author: | Kirkpatrick, JB (Professor James Kirkpatrick) |
UTAS Author: | Davison, AG (Associate Professor Aidan Davison) |
ID Code: | 121165 |
Year Published: | 2017 |
Funding Support: | Australian Research Council (DP0987099) |
Deposited By: | Geography and Spatial Science |
Deposited On: | 2017-09-13 |
Last Modified: | 2017-09-13 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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