Urban tree cover targets: The good, the bad and the SMART

Urban tree cover (UTC) is a commonly used metric in policy and management activities, including urban forest resources assessment, equity and distribution, and ecosystem services modelling. Despite the well-established benefits associated with urban tree canopy, declining tree cover has catalysed many cities into setting UTC targets. In this short communication, we used an assessment of UTC targets set by 57 cities worldwide to discuss the merits and drawbacks of setting UTC targets and to inform recommendations for setting effective UTC targets. We found that UTC targets range in ambition, varying between 4% and 50%. To meet these targets, cities would have to increase their current UTC by between 0.47 and 23.3 percentage points within stated timelines of between 3 and 51 years. We found that cities with lower current UTC set ambitious targets, requiring relatively large annual increases in UTC. Moreover, cities in xeric or dry biomes set lower targets (< 20%) than cities in temperate or tropical biomes (> 25%). We found that setting UTC targets can provide a range of benefits, but achieving a UTC target at the expense of other indicators of urban forest structure and quality poses risks. We reflect on pathways to set specific, measurable, achievable, resourced, and time-bound UTC targets, while acknowledging the associated issues. This exploration of UTC targets will help ensure that UTC remains a useful metric for urban forest management and planning. • We present urban tree cover (UTC) targets from 57 cities around the world • Targets set by cities with low current UTC require relatively large annual increases in canopy • UTC targets varied by biome with targets being lower in dry or xeric biomes • The benefits and drawbacks of setting UTC targets are discussed • We use the SMART framework to propose a method for effectively setting UTC targets

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Publication Details

Journal
Urban forestry & urban greening
Published
2025-07-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128979
Citations
7
Primary Topic
Urban Green Space and Health
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
8.40

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article

Urban tree cover targets: The good, the bad and the SMART

Dexter H. Locke, Kieron J. Doick, Puay Yok Tan, Stephen J. Livesley et al.
7 citations
Urban forestry & urban greening
Urban Green Space and Health
8.40
article

Urban tree cover targets: The good, the bad and the SMART

Dexter H. Locke, Kieron J. Doick, Puay Yok Tan, Stephen J. Livesley, Jun Yang, Andrew K. Koeser, Lorien Nesbitt, Tenley M. Conway, Lara A. Roman, C.Y. Jim, Peter N. Duinker, Shawn Landry, Justin Morgenroth, Cynnamon Dobbs, Charlie M. Shackleton, Richard J. Hauer, Natalie Marie Gulsrud, Camilo Ordóñez
article en
7 citations

Abstract

Urban tree cover (UTC) is a commonly used metric in policy and management activities, including urban forest resources assessment, equity and distribution, and ecosystem services modelling. Despite the well-established benefits associated with urban tree canopy, declining tree cover has catalysed many cities into setting UTC targets. In this short communication, we used an assessment of UTC targets set by 57 cities worldwide to discuss the merits and drawbacks of setting UTC targets and to inform recommendations for setting effective UTC targets. We found that UTC targets range in ambition, varying between 4% and 50%. To meet these targets, cities would have to increase their current UTC by between 0.47 and 23.3 percentage points within stated timelines of between 3 and 51 years. We found that cities with lower current UTC set ambitious targets, requiring relatively large annual increases in UTC. Moreover, cities in xeric or dry biomes set lower targets (< 20%) than cities in temperate or tropical biomes (> 25%). We found that setting UTC targets can provide a range of benefits, but achieving a UTC target at the expense of other indicators of urban forest structure and quality poses risks. We reflect on pathways to set specific, measurable, achievable, resourced, and time-bound UTC targets, while acknowledging the associated issues. This exploration of UTC targets will help ensure that UTC remains a useful metric for urban forest management and planning. • We present urban tree cover (UTC) targets from 57 cities around the world • Targets set by cities with low current UTC require relatively large annual increases in canopy • UTC targets varied by biome with targets being lower in dry or xeric biomes • The benefits and drawbacks of setting UTC targets are discussed • We use the SMART framework to propose a method for effectively setting UTC targets

Urban forestry & urban greeningVol. 112
University of Copenhagen (DK), Dalhousie University (CA), University of Connecticut (US), University of British Columbia (CA), The University of Melbourne (AU), National University of Singapore (SG), University of Toronto (CA), University of Canterbury (NZ), University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (US), Rhodes University (ZA), Florida Gulf Coast University (US), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (PH), University of Florida (US), Education University of Hong Kong (HK), Northern Research Station (US), Ministry of Education (ME), Pacific Southwest Research Station (US), Forest Research (GB), Ecosystem Sciences (AU), University of South Florida St. Petersburg (US)
U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Research Foundation, Department of Science and Technology, Republic of South Africa
Sustainable cities and communities
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Urban Green Space and Health
8.40
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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