Trees in the Townscape: A Guide for Decision Makers

12 principles of best practice for all those involved in local decision making to ensure that our 21st century towns and cities are underpinned by a 21st century approach to urban trees, for maximum economic, social and environmental returns.
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​​Development and use of the guide
With over 80% of the UK’s population living in urban settings, trees in and around built-up areas – which many call the “urban forest” – have become a key component of the infrastructure that makes places work, look and feel better.

This guide keeps pace with and responds to the challenges of our times. It offers 12 action-oriented principles (shown in the infographic below) spanning the range of planning, design, works and management issues that must be addressed for maximum economic, social and environmental returns. Each principle is supported by explanations of benefits and delivery mechanisms, as well as references for further reading.

34 case studies provide real-life examples of the principles in action, giving insight into best practice from all over England including Bristol, Birmingham, Plymouth, Torbay, Sefton, Oxford, Leeds, Newcastle, Islington and Hackney as well as from further afield including the US and Hong Kong. 

In keeping with TDAG’s ethos of raising awareness of the role of trees in the built environment by facilitating cross-sector and cross-disciplinary collaboration, the development of this guide was based on over 40 interviews and  extensive consultation with civil engineers, insurers, developers, designers, planners, tree officers, sustainability specialists, arboriculturists, tree nursery managers, ecologists, academics and not-for-profit organisations dedicated to community engagement and trees. 
Watch Rt. Hon. Norman Baker MP's June 2012 address on the importance of urban trees.
For more details about what happened at the launch of this new guide on 26 June at the Royal Geographical Society, see our press release.
Endorse the 12 principles for urban trees.

We provide a draft endorsement motion and step-by-step advice to help you ensure sure key tree-owning or tree-managing organisations in your neighbourhood, town or city endorse and champion the 12 principles for urban trees.