160 Zhang and Zheng: Urban Trees Programs from Municipal Officials' Perspective Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 2012. 38(4): 160–167 Urban Trees Programs from Municipal Officials' Perspective: Evidence from Alabama, U.S. Yaoqi Zhang and Bin Zheng Abstract. Using survey data, this study explored Alabama municipal employees and policy makers’ perception of urban trees, financing, governing, and in- formation sharing regarding urban forest management. Results suggest that the importance of urban trees is widely recognized by local municipal employees and policymakers. They also believe that urban trees would increase property value and promote community pride. Ecological benefits were, however, less valued. Alabama, U.S. cities spent less than USD $60,000 per year on tree planting, tree maintenance, debris, and tree removal. Cities with a large popula- tion usually appear to spend more on urban trees; likewise, cities with higher household incomes and lower poverty rates would have higher expenditures on urban tree programs. Relatively minor differences were found among the three types of employees and administrators: mayors, council members, and ad- ministrators. The results indicate many municipal officials were not aware of, or informed about, related agencies providing urban tree management services. Key Words. Environmental Awareness; Municipal; Perceptions; Public Infrastructure; Regional Development; Survey; Urban Planning. To promote and support urban tree programs, it is impor- tant to have the support of various local employees and policymakers, including the mayor, city council mem- bers, and other administrators. Not all local administra- tors and employees, however, have the same understanding about the costs/problems (e.g., management costs, medical costs associated with allergies, damage to property or per- sonal safety) and benefits (e.g., improvement in air qual- ity, reduction in stormwater runoff, decrease in energy costs) of trees, and they might have various perceptions. Human understanding and perception of its surround- ings depends to a large extent on knowledge and experience. Large differences in knowledge of program benefits and costs could explain why perceptions vary, and why some municipal employees are more inclined than others to value urban tree programs. As such, it is important to know how much infor- mation is available to them about urban trees, the costs and benefits associated with them, and what kind of information is needed. Given limited resources at their disposal, it is not possible to invest in all kind of information programs with- out assessing the demand for them and the available supply. The objectives of this study were threefold: 1) assess local officials’ perception of urban trees and urban forest manage- ment in Alabama, U.S., and determine if there are differences in the attitudes of the three types of officials (mayor, council member, administrator) toward them; 2) analyze the influential factors of the budget on urban tree programs; and 3) explore municipal officials’ awareness of the governing and sharing of information regarding urban tree management. The research- ers were particularly interested in what might affect the amount of money the respondent’s community spent on the trees in the ©2012 International Society of Arboriculture following four categories: urban tree planting, urban tree main- tenance, urban tree debris removal, and urban tree removal. To assess the perception and support of municipal employ- ees, administrators, and policymakers to urban forestry develop- ment in the state of Alabama, this paper summarizes how they perceive the role of urban trees, how the funding of urban tree programs is distributed, how they are getting and sharing for- estry service information, and what information is demanded. LITERATURE REVIEW Considering the importance of public involvement in urban tree programs for positive changes in the community (Relf 1992), many studies have been conducted on the public at- titudes and perceptions of urban tree programs (e.g., Sum- mit and McPherson 1998; Wolf 2003; Treiman and Gartner 2005; Zhang et al. 2007; Stevenson et al. 2008). Treiman and Gartner (2005) found that most community officials are interested in tree preservation. Mayors, council mem- bers, and public works administrators also play an im- portant role in organizing and implementing municipal tree planting and help to regulate the coordination among agencies and groups (Dwyer et al. 2003; Pincetl 2010). Green et al. (1998) and Schroeder et al. (2003) conducted surveys in Illinois, U.S., independently and showed that local municipal officials have strong positive attitudes toward com- munity trees regardless of the community’s size. Allen (1995) also reported that municipal employees in Missouri, U.S., had a positive attitude toward urban forestry regardless of region, population class, metropolitan or rural community, or Tree City USA status. It was found that tree activists, the chamber of com-
July 2012
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