Higher Income and Education Favored

• In Portland, Oregon, participation in a tree planting program was much lower if the neighborhood had lower high school graduation rates, a marker of general lower socioeconomic status.Donovan, G. H. & Mills, J. (2014). Environmental justice and factors that influence participation in tree planting programs in Portland, Oregon. Arboriculture & Urban Forestry, 40 (2), 70–77.
• In Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, DC, the free and reduced-cost tree planting programs have been most effective in affluent areas, which are much more likely to have higher tree canopy.Locke, D. H. & Grove, J. (2014). Doing the hard work where it’s easiest? Examining the relationships between urban greening programs and social and ecological characteristics. Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy, 1–20.

Successful Traits

• Traits for effective tree planting programs include:Ketcham, C. (2015). Influence of tree planting program characteristics on environmental justice outcomes. Dissertation. Virginia Tech.
  • Partnerships between the city and nonprofit groups,
  • Reduced responsibility for property owners,
  • Concentrating plantings in smaller areas, and
  • Utilizing public property when possible