Fisher, Dana R.; Svendsen, Erika S.; Connolly, James

Urban Environmental Stewardship and Civic Engagement : How Planting Trees Strengthens the Roots of Democracy

Once considered the antithesis of a verdant and vibrant ecosystem, cities are now being hailed as highly efficient and complex social ecological systems. Emerging from the streets of the post-industrial city are well-tended community gardens, forested parks and woodlands, rooftop farms, full-canopied streetscapes, restored wetlands and other viable habitats capable of supporting native flora and fauna. At the forefront of this transformation are the citizens living in the cities themselves. As people around the world increasingly relocate themselves to urban areas, this book discusses how they engage in urban stewardship and what civic participation in the environment means for democracy.One of the most popular types of urban environmental campaign involves planting trees throughout cities to "re-green" and "revitalize" communities. This book looks at volunteers to one of the largest urban re-greening initiatives in the United States: the MillionTrees New York City initiative. This detailed case study explores the social motivations of the volunteers who choose to participate in this type of volunteer stewardship activity. Understanding why some individuals choose to get involved while others do not is an important objective at a time when city governments in developed countries are investing more and more money in green infrastructure campaigns to change the urban landscape. Urban Environmental Stewardship and Civic Engagement examines how the efforts of individuals to reshape cities contributes to democracy and introduces and concludes its findings with international applications to global cities and sustainability.