• Trees for Resilience Green Cities: Strategic Screening and Action Toolkit

    Designed for cities, this toolkit, developed by UNECE, includes a scorecard, template implementation scheme and resources to support planning and is available for download and use on our website.

  • Urban Forest Management Plan Toolkit

    provides step-by-step guidance for developing strategic urban forest management plans. The toolkit contains instructions for creating work plans for pre-planning, implementation and adaptive management. The toolkit was developed by the California Inland Urban Forest Council.

  • Treepedia

    is an interactive website using Google Street View data to measure urban green cover, including the proportion of trees and other vegetation. Using the “Green View Index”, Treepedia measures the perceived greenery while walking down a street. The different modules to calculate the “Green View Index” for cities are open-source and can be accessed via Treepedia’s Phyton library. Treepedia is a project by the MIT Senseable City Lab developed in cooperation with the World Economic Forum and its initiative Global Shapers Community.
  • i-Tree

    is a set of tools for urban and rural forestry analysis and benefits assessment. These tools support forest management and awareness-raising by quantifying forest structure and ecosystem services. i-Tree is a joint effort between the US Forest Service, the Davey Tree Expert Company, the Arbor Day Foundation, the Society of Municipal Arborists, the International Society of Arboriculture, the Casey Trees and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

  • Foresight Brief on Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Challenges

    published by the United Nations Environment Programme in 2021. The Foresight Brief provides an overview of the current state of research on the effectiveness of nature-based solutions in cities.

  • Diversitree

    measures urban tree cover according to the 10/20/30 rule. The rule suggests that urban forests should not be composed of more than 10% of a single species, 20% of the same genus and 30% of the same family. By applying the rule as a benchmark, the diversity and adaptive capacity of urban forests can be increased, ensuring their health and the provision of ecosystem services. Diversitree is a project implemented by the MIT Senseable City Lab in cooperation with the University College Dublin.
  • InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs)

    is a series of models for mapping and valuing ecosystem services. The model series includes tools to assess urban cooling and urban flood risk mitigation provided by trees and forests. Several other models are under development for evaluating benefits of urban green cover, including the contribution of trees and forests to stormwater management, habitat quality, mental health, air quality and urban heat island mitigation. InVEST is developed as part of the Stanford Natural Capital Project.
  • Urban Tree Canopy Assessment

    is a publication issued by the US Forest Service in 2019. It contains an overview of approaches, methods and data sources that can be used to assess urban tree canopy.

  • Urban Forestry Toolkit

    published by the United States Forest Service. The toolkit provides a step-by-step guide to implementing urban forestry in your community.

  • Guidelines on Urban and Peri-Urban Forests

    published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2016. The guidelines aim to help decision-makers to better manage their urban and peri-urban forests and strengthen community awareness of the benefits of trees and forests.

  • Parks Design Guidelines & Construction Manual

    Parker Town Council passed an ordinance on July 17, 2023 amending sections of the Parker Municipal Code with the re-adoption of the Parks, Trails, Open Space & Streetscape Design and Construction Manual. The newly revised and expanded manual will be used by applicants and Town staff to guide the planning, design and construction of parks, trails, open space and streetscapes - including informing the design of new municipal parks and renovation of existing parks as repair and maintenance is planned in the future.

  • Building a Community Park: 9 Steps You Should Follow

    Parks are critical to a community’s spirit. Without public parks, there’d be little social interaction, with no play space for kids and no enjoyable outdoor resting space for adults. From splash parks to dog parks to playgrounds, these public green spaces are recreational areas that serve the needs of community members.

  • SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard

    Developed by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) in 2023, the Urban and Community Forestry Standard provides a framework with 16 objectives for organizations seeking to enhance their urban forests. The Standard was developed for use by organizations that own, manage, or are responsible for urban and/or community forests. It covers areas such as urban forest planning and management, climate resilience, stewardship of natural resources, and the protection and conservation of biodiversity.