I wrote this summary for Engl 100 on the article “The Importance of Urban Forests.”

Amy Fleming’s “The importance of urban forests: why money really does grow on trees” outlines the multifaceted benefits that urban trees have on the cities and people around them. Fleming reports on the research exploring the presence of trees and the benefits it can have on people’s health, both physically and mentally. Public health expert William Bird claims that natural environments reduce stress and increase empathy (qtd. in Fleming 4). Fleming also reminds us of the plethora of economic benefits and “ecological services” that trees have on cities, and how city representatives have convened to discuss “sustainable urban development” (2). Fleming lists several of these benefits, including energy saving and improving air quality, benefits that save cities hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. and Fleming’s point is that the objective impact that urban trees carry is no longer something that city officials can remain unaware of.