As I begin to formulate my methodological idea of qualitative regression, I realize that I will need several data points available in order to investigate and generalize trends in the formation of city shape and its relationship with the urban forest. The first contextual data point is easy—besides being my present location and the subject of my already-related research, Portland has a dual focus on urban development policy and urban forestry which makes it particularly amenable to my study. As a medium-sized city of close to 600,000, Portland also functions as a good representative of many similarly-sized american cities.
My next inclination is to look at cities which participate in the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City USA program. I spent my teenage years in Takoma Park, Maryland, a small city outside of Washington, DC, which was a member of this program, equipped with a citywide Tree Commission whose role was to oversee permitting and arboreal policy. I witnessed firsthand how a focus on tree value and diversity affected urban form on a minor scale, and think that this would contribute a valuable data point to my analysis.
However, I would like to look at a city which is more self-contained, and less related in a suburban manner to a larger city such as Washington, DC. For this purpose, I would like to use Ann Arbor, Michigan as a case study for the influence of the Tree City USA program. In addition to the standards of Tree City USA, Ann Arbor uses economic incentives to regulate the urban forest, with escrow fees charged for business street frontage and tree maintenance, as well as a canopy removal fees for taking trees down. Using Ann Arbor, a small city of 100,000, as an example of a Tree City USA will provide a useful study to deepen the analysis.
Finally, I want to include a large city with a long history of development. Chicago seems particularly amenable to my purposes, as it has long history of unplanned growth, subject to the influence of western american expansion, first in the form of agricultural trade along the Mississippi River, then by massive growth in railroad infrastructure as a new means to transport agricultural products, as well as people. Chicago has a long history of urban sprawl, with population in the city center declining since the 1950s. Because of the varied nature of Chicago’s suburbs and exurbs, the urban forest likely plays a varied role throughout different parts of the city urban area. Chicago has a bureau of forestry charged with managing its urban trees, indicating an interest in the shape of its urban canopy overall. With a population of 2.7 million, Chicago should represent large urban metropolitan areas well in my study.