Work

Treeless streets and sleepless nights: How cities overprotect infrastructure and underprotect citizens

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Urban landscapes must provide residents with a range of infrastructure, both grey and green. However, current regimes of risk management for utilities and transport infrastructure tend to prohibit the planting of trees and other greenery within fairly large distances of cables, pipes, hydrants and poles, among other features. This precautionary approach has sought to mitigate minor risks such as root intrusions, but has inadvertently had the cumulative effect of making significant areas of the public realm ‘leafless’. This exclusion of nature exposes residents to an array of quite serious health risks, which we outline. Drawing on medical evidence, contemporary examples and a narrative of lived experience, we argue that this is a badly imbalanced regime of risk management. This perspective illuminates the unintended health and social consequences of risk-averse infrastructure policies and advocates resilience-based approaches to urban tree integration, which will require significant reform to governance structures.

Source: Landscape and Urban Planning

DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2026.105675

Authors: Thami CROESER, Thomas ASTELL-BURT, Sarah BELL, Xiaoqi FENG

Institutions: RMIT University, The University of Sydney, The University of Melbourne, UNSW Sydney

Language: English

Topic: Urban Arborization and Environmental Studies

Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Good health and well-being, Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,120