Assessment of the 3-30-300 Standard in New London, Connecticut: GIS Analysis and Systematic Literature Review on Urban Tree Cover

Cecil Konijnendijk’s 3-30-300 standard allows cities to monitor their current urban forestry conditions and progress toward improvement. The standard is met if individuals can see three trees from their home, have 30% canopy cover in their neighborhood, and are within 300 meters of a green space. I conducted a systematic review of relevant literature and an assessment of whether New London, Connecticut meets the standard. My goal was to evaluate the benefits of urban forestry standards, the feasibility of implementation, and whether cities tested adhered. The 30-component of the standard was the most difficult part to meet due to a lack of space in urban settings. Developing progress toward meeting this standard is more important than trying to achieve exact numbers. Urban forestry standards are necessary to allocate green space equally among residents. The high population densities in cities make a standard as high as 3-30-300 difficult to implement. Using an urban forestry standard like 3-30-300 in cities effectively identifies areas of high priority when planting trees and developing green space. This research aims to assess the feasibility of the 3-30-300 standard in different urban settings. For this, I will i) conduct a systematic literature review to determine whether the standard has been found feasible and ii) evaluate existing conditions relative to the standard at a neighborhood scale in a mid-size city in Connecticut.