The following is a written assignment for my English 100 class on Amy Fleming’s article, “The Importance of Urban Forests: Why Money really does Grow on Trees” (2016).
In “The Importance of Urban Forests: Why Money Really Does Grow on Trees,” journalist Amy Fleming addresses the environmental, economic and health benefits of trees in urban settings. For years, city officials have balked at the price of planting and maintaining trees. However, the profitable services that trees provide outweigh any of the costs leaders may be reluctant to invest. To put a dollar amount on the economic impact trees have, Fleming reports that benefits such as energy savings, air quality improvements and costs avoided in flooding “added up to $120m a year” in contrast to the “$22m annual parks department expenditure” (3). Not only do urban forests have substantial monetary value and allow for financial gain, but they also improve psychological well-being. In neighbourhoods with more trees, research suggests that stress, anxiety and mental fatigue levels aren’t as high and that violent tendencies are reduced (qtd. in Fleming 4). These points drive home the fact that health and nature go hand in hand and that trees can improve the overall quality of life. As more and more green spaces are being wiped out in cities, Fleming calls attention to the launching of the New Urban Agenda – a roadmap for sustainable urban development. This UN-adopted document aims to protect the environment and represents a vision for a greener future.