Neighborhood Quality of Life

In addition to their effect on the medical health of city residents, urban trees also improve the social well-being of neighborhoods and mental health of residents. For many urbanites, street trees are about the only nature that they see regularly, and many work to protect “their” trees. Many are highly appreciative of opportunities to learn about urban forestry and tree care. Northern Research Station scientists are working to help urban land managers and planners need to understand the psychological, social, and cultural needs that trees and forests fulfill.

Selected Research Studies

Values & meaning of places
People have very strong feelings for and attachments to places and environments. This holds true for those who live in an area, people who visit it, and even those who may have heard of but never visited it.  
Understanding how people value the environment and what it means to them is key to making the most effective policy and management decisions.

Public policies and urban growth
Decision-makers and planners have responded to the undesirable impacts of urban growth by developing a wide range of policy tools and growth-management programs that have been implemented at the local, regional, state and, to a limited extent, national levels. Understanding these policies and programs, including their strengths and weaknesses, is critical to designing effective ways to address the social and environmental costs of sprawl.

Urban sprawl and housing growth
The term “urban sprawl” may suggest that it applies only to big cities, but suburban and rural areas also confront development and land-management issues associated with urban growth. Examining housing growth is key to understanding and addressing sprawl. It is important to look at both permanent and seasonal housing, since in some Great Lakes counties up to 80% of the residences are vacation homes. Along with documenting patterns of growth, our unit looks at people’s perceptions of it, studying the perspectives of developers, planners, public officials, and permanent and seasonal residents.

Landscape design
The choices people make about where to live and work have important implications for landscape design. For instance, as families move into conservation communities on the urban fringe, what are the most appropriate, appealing, and conservation-minded site layouts? What attributes of the homes and landscapes convey the rural character of a place? On the other hand, what are appropriate landscape design considerations for industrialized neighborhoods that are reclaiming intermingled natural areas? What is the role of design in enhancing the ecological viability of an area? Our research seeks to answer these and other critical landscape design questions.

Demographic differences and diversity
Different people have different expectations for how natural resources should be managed. Certain individuals or groups might have unique needs, or because they are in a minority, may not have their needs voiced in the larger public context of resource management and planning. Our research identifies the differences and commonalities between a wide variety of constituents to help ensure the most responsive resource management and policies. We help policymakers and planners prepare for changes in the populations they serve.