128 pancy, higher education). Alternatively, the spatial autocorrelation could be explained by diffusion of ideas via professional networks, as municipal leaders would be more likely to share ideas with their counterparts in neighboring communities as opposed to more distant communities. Simi- larly, municipal leaders may feel pressure to par- ticipate in TCUSA as a means of upholding the community’s prestige in relation to its neighbors. Grove et al. (2006) described this phenomenon as an “ecology of prestige” for households within a neighborhood; here, researchers potentially observed an analogous desire to keep up with neighboring communities by enrolling in TCUSA. Conclusions and Future Directions In the U.S., TCUSA is the most prominent pro- gram recognizing a commitment to commu- nity forestry. The study was designed to provide a national overview of TCUSA participation according to geography, community size, and socioeconomic characteristics. In the analysis, nearly one-quarter of U.S. communities ≥2,500 population participated in TCUSA, and this rep- resented over one-half of the total population in those communities. Program participation varied substantially among U.S. regions, from 11.5% of communities in the Middle Atlantic region to 44.4% in the West North Central region. TCUSA participation rates were higher in more populous communities, and long-term participants were more populous than recent enrollees. Across the majority of U.S. regions, TCUSA participation was negatively associated with owner occupancy rates, and positively associated with high school graduation rates and percent white population. These relationships could signal instances of en- vironmental injustice if the presumed benefits of TCUSA participation are distributed unevenly with respect to educational attainment or racial composition. Patterns for income and median population age were less clear across regions. Finally, TCUSA participants exhibited positive spatial autocorrelation, as communities were more likely to participate if their neighbors participated. This analysis represents the first national assessment of TCUSA participation, and as such, the findings provide novel insight into the char- acteristics of TCUSA communities. Continued ©2016 International Society of Arboriculture Berland et al.: Assessment of Tree City Participation research on TCUSA participation and attendant benefits will help improve community forest man- agement, and the patterns described here can be used to frame future research questions. For example, identifying motivating factors and bar- riers to TCUSA participation could help gauge interest for TCUSA in non-participant commu- nities, overcome barriers to participation, and reduce inequalities in program participation rates. In future analyses, additional factors, such as pop- ulation density, existing tree canopy cover, and management responses to forest pests or chang- ing municipal budgets, may provide insight into patterns of TCUSA participation over time and space. Finally, investigating the social (e.g., com- munity education and engagement), economic (e.g., increased business and tourism activities), and environmental impacts (e.g., reduced storm- water runoff and urban heat island effects) of TCUSA could help quantify the advantages of par- ticipation, and may ultimately point to changes in the program that would help communities maxi- mize the benefits associated with participation. Acknowledgments. This research was performed while AB held a National Research Council Research Associateship Award at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). Partial support was provided to DLH through an appointment to the research participation program with the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education through the U.S. DOE and U.S. EPA. The views expressed in this article are strictly the opinions of the authors and in no manner represent or reflect current or planned policy by the U.S. EPA or other federal agencies. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. LITERATURE CITED Arbor Day Foundation. 2014. Tree City USA. Accessed 23 February 2015. Benjamini, Y., and Y. Hochberg. 1995. Controlling the false discov- ery rate: A practical and powerful approach to multiple testing. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society B 57:289–300. Berland, A., and M.E. Hopton. 2014. Comparing street tree assem- blages and associated stormwater benefits among communities in metropolitan Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 13:734–741. Berland, A., K. Schwarz, D.L. Herrmann, and M.E. Hopton. 2015. How environmental justice patterns are shaped by place: Ter- rain and tree canopy in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Cities and the Environment (CATE): 8:Article 1. Bivand, R. 2014. Spatial dependence: Weighting schemes, statistics, and models. Accessed 23 February 2015. Crain, R.L. 1966. Fluoridation: The diffusion of an innovation among cities. Social Forces 44:467–476.
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