Bridging Technology and Citizen Engagement in Urban Forestry

Urban forests are vital for climate resilience and urban well-being, yet balancing ecological, social, and economic goals remains challenging. Limited resources, fragmented communication, and complex citizen engagement hinder effective decision-making. Digital solutions enhance transparency, streamline management, and foster citizen participation in urban forest governance. Modern cloud and mobile technologies facilitate information sharing, field coordination, and community engagement. Integrating these tools into existing workflows boosts efficiency without disrupting administrative structures. Key advancements include digitalizing information sharing and operational management. Citizen engagement benefits from crowdsourcing and digital participation platforms. Accessible tools, like map-based applications, enable residents to provide feedback, report observations, and contribute to urban forest planning, fostering two-way communication and transparency. Real-time reporting from field workers reduces administrative burdens and improves response times. Practical solutions to these challenges already exist and crowdsourcing has already been used in cities and projects to collect citizens’ preferences and perceptions for urban green governance. Studies like "Whose park? Crowdsourcing citizen's urban green space preferences to inform needs-based management decisions" and "Crowdsourcing Public Engagement for Urban Planning in the Global South" highlight how digital methods enhance participation and data collection for decision-making. Leveraging technology makes urban forest governance more inclusive, data-driven, and adaptable to evolving environmental and societal needs. Digital tools increase transparency, optimise task coordination, and support sustainable urban forest management.