Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 32(5): September 2006 243 tree outside their home grew too fast compared with 21% in the North Somerset/Torbay survey. No measurements of actual tree size were recorded in the Downers Grove survey. Thus, it is not possible to directly compare the physical sizes of the trees being rated in the Downers Grove and the North Somerset/Torbay surveys. The Village Forester of Downers Grove at the time of the survey, however, noted that some of the trees that were included in the survey had been planted relatively recently and were not yet full grown. This raises the possibility that part of the difference between the Downers Grove and North Somerset/ Torbay surveys in evaluations of tree size and growth rate could simply be the result of differences in the ages of the trees respondents were evaluating and not to differences in their preferences for tree size and growth rate. A comparison with ratings of tree size from a neighbor- hood tree survey reported by Schroeder and Ruffolo (1996), however, suggests that this is not the case. In that survey, which was done at the same time as the individual tree survey reported here, residents of selected neighborhoods in Down- ers Grove evaluated street trees in their whole neighborhood, not just the one in front of their house. One of these neigh- borhoods had a single-species, even-aged population of ma- ture silver maples (Acer saccharinum) that formed an arching canopy over the street. On a scale of 1 (too small) to 3 (too large), this neighborhood had an average tree size rating of 2.00, indicating that the residents thought these large, mature trees were “just right” in size. The average tree size rating of 2.39 from the North Somerset/Torbay survey was signifi- cantly higher (F[2,603] 141.05, P < 0.0001), indicating that, on average, the respondents thought their trees were somewhat too large, although most of their trees were prob- ably physically smaller than the mature silver maples in Downers Grove. Thus, it appears likely that there is a real difference in preferences for tree size with the respondents in the North Somerset/Torbay survey preferring their trees to be smaller than did the respondents in the Downers Grove survey. DISCUSSION The findings show that residents in all the communities sur- veyed held similarly high levels of overall satisfaction with the trees outside their homes. Benefits generally outweighed the annoyances caused by street trees, and overall satisfaction was more strongly related to the intangible benefits of trees than to their physical benefits or annoyances. A number of significant differences were found between the respondents in the Downers Grove and North Somerset/ Torbay surveys. Residents of North Somerset/Torbay evalu- ated all annoyances as more serious than did the Downers Grove respondents. North Somerset/Torbay respondents rated most physical benefits as significantly more important than the Downers Grove respondents but considered shade to be less important as a benefit of their trees. Respondents in the North Somerset/Torbay survey appeared to prefer smaller trees and trees with slower growth rates than did the residents of Downers Grove. There are several possible explanations for the observed differences in attitudes between respondents in the Downers Grove and North Somerset/Torbay surveys. One possibility is that some differences, particularly regarding intangible ben- efits, may be the result of cultural differences between the communities. For example, in the North Somerset/Torbay survey, the benefits of “brings nature closer” and “provides spiritual values” were rated significantly higher than in the Downers Grove survey, whereas in the Downers Grove sur- vey, “increases sense of community” and “increases sense of home and family” were rated significantly higher. This sug- gests that there may be different underlying values influenc- ing residents’ evaluations of trees. Whether this stems from cultural differences and whether such differences, if they ex- ist, operate at the community, regional, or national level can- not be determined from our data. Nevertheless, this result suggests that further research to investigate the possible role of culture in tree attitudes might be worth pursuing. Another explanation for differences, particularly in ratings for tree shade, has to do with the differing climates between the regions where the surveys were done. The Downers Grove survey was done in a midwestern U.S. community, where summers can be very hot and shade is greatly appre- ciated for shelter from the midday sun. The mean daily maxi- mum temperature in Chicago, the nearest large city to Down- ers Grove, is 28.7°C (83.7°F) compared with 22.3°C (72.1°F) in London (World Meteorological Organization 2006). The United Kingdom, on the other hand, experiences lower levels of solar radiation combined with high levels of rainfall, lead- ing residents to value direct sunshine quite highly. London experiences an average of 145 days of precipitation per year compared with 94 for Chicago (World Meteorological Orga- nization 2006). In such a cool, cloudy climate, trees that cause shade may be considered an annoyance rather than a benefit. Differences in the spatial layout of residential properties may also be a factor contributing to differences in evaluations of certain benefits and annoyances of street trees. Less physi- cal space relative to population means that properties and the associated infrastructure in UK communities tend to be ar- ranged closer together. In the United States, which is gener- ally less densely populated than the United Kingdom, suburbs are more spread out with larger lots, resulting in street trees growing further away from the home. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the differences in street layout between the communities in these surveys. Trees on the North Somerset/Torbay properties generally grow closer to property boundaries and to the actual building itself. Such close proximity between tree and building is likely to increase the impact on residents of annoying tree attributes such as ©2006 International Society of Arboriculture
September 2006
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