Acute canopy deficits in global cities exposed by the 3-30-300 benchmark for urban nature
Abstract The 3-30-300 rule is a recently proposed metric that sets minimum standards for access to nature in cities for human wellbeing. It specifies that homes, schools and workplaces should have a view of 3 trees, be in a neighbourhood with over 30% tree canopy cover and be within 300 m walk of a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53402-2 |
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| author | Thami Croeser Roshan Sharma Wolfgang W. Weisser Sarah A. Bekessy |
| author_facet | Thami Croeser Roshan Sharma Wolfgang W. Weisser Sarah A. Bekessy |
| author_sort | Thami Croeser |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The 3-30-300 rule is a recently proposed metric that sets minimum standards for access to nature in cities for human wellbeing. It specifies that homes, schools and workplaces should have a view of 3 trees, be in a neighbourhood with over 30% tree canopy cover and be within 300 m walk of a park. This metric is an important progression for assessing urban nature because it is easy to understand, highly local, and sets a pass/fail benchmark for green infrastructure. Using datasets of over 2.5 million buildings in eight cities, we show that most buildings fail the 3-30-300 rule due to inadequate tree canopy, even in well-known global cities (the cities are Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Seattle, Denver, New York, Singapore, Melbourne and Sydney). The ‘3’ standard was met more often, while achievement of the ‘300’ standard was patchy. Further analysis indicates that existing trees are too small for adequate canopy cover. Cities should invest in improving planting conditions to support tree growth and enhance governance to reduce premature removals and excessive pruning. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a84726d2bef444618f36c6f9f3756675 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-a84726d2bef444618f36c6f9f37566752024-11-24T12:35:22ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-11-0115111210.1038/s41467-024-53402-2Acute canopy deficits in global cities exposed by the 3-30-300 benchmark for urban natureThami Croeser0Roshan Sharma1Wolfgang W. Weisser2Sarah A. Bekessy3Interdisciplinary Conservation Science Lab, Centre for Urban Research, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, 411 Swanston StreetInterdisciplinary Conservation Science Lab, Centre for Urban Research, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, 411 Swanston StreetTerrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2Interdisciplinary Conservation Science Lab, Centre for Urban Research, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, 411 Swanston StreetAbstract The 3-30-300 rule is a recently proposed metric that sets minimum standards for access to nature in cities for human wellbeing. It specifies that homes, schools and workplaces should have a view of 3 trees, be in a neighbourhood with over 30% tree canopy cover and be within 300 m walk of a park. This metric is an important progression for assessing urban nature because it is easy to understand, highly local, and sets a pass/fail benchmark for green infrastructure. Using datasets of over 2.5 million buildings in eight cities, we show that most buildings fail the 3-30-300 rule due to inadequate tree canopy, even in well-known global cities (the cities are Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Seattle, Denver, New York, Singapore, Melbourne and Sydney). The ‘3’ standard was met more often, while achievement of the ‘300’ standard was patchy. Further analysis indicates that existing trees are too small for adequate canopy cover. Cities should invest in improving planting conditions to support tree growth and enhance governance to reduce premature removals and excessive pruning.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53402-2 |
| spellingShingle | Thami Croeser Roshan Sharma Wolfgang W. Weisser Sarah A. Bekessy Acute canopy deficits in global cities exposed by the 3-30-300 benchmark for urban nature Nature Communications |
| title | Acute canopy deficits in global cities exposed by the 3-30-300 benchmark for urban nature |
| title_full | Acute canopy deficits in global cities exposed by the 3-30-300 benchmark for urban nature |
| title_fullStr | Acute canopy deficits in global cities exposed by the 3-30-300 benchmark for urban nature |
| title_full_unstemmed | Acute canopy deficits in global cities exposed by the 3-30-300 benchmark for urban nature |
| title_short | Acute canopy deficits in global cities exposed by the 3-30-300 benchmark for urban nature |
| title_sort | acute canopy deficits in global cities exposed by the 3 30 300 benchmark for urban nature |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53402-2 |
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