Giving Compass' Take:

· Writing for The Conversation, Sonja Dümpelmann talks about her new book, “Seeing Trees: A History of Street Trees in New York City and Berlin,” and the importance of incorporating trees into the urban landscape with the rising perils of climate change.

· How can cities like New York incorporate more trees into the urban environment to offset the harmful effects of pollution? What else are cities doing to fight climate change? 

· Here's more on how cities are handling climate change.

Many cities, in recent years, have initiated tree planting campaigns to offset carbon dioxide emissions and improve urban microclimates.

In 2007, New York City launched MillionTrees NYC, a program designed to plant 1 million new trees along streets, in parks and on private and public properties by 2017. They hit their goal two years ahead of time.

These programs are popular for a reason: Not only do trees improve the city’s appearance, but they also mitigate the urban heat island effect – the tendency for dense cities to be hotter than surrounding areas. Studies have shown that trees reduce pollutants in the air, and even the mere sight of trees and the availability of green spaces in cities can decrease stress.

But as I show in my new book, “Seeing Trees: A History of Street Trees in New York City and Berlin,” trees weren’t always a part of the urban landscape. It took a systematic, coordinated effort to get the first ones planted.

Read the full article about trees in the urban landscape by Sonja Dümpelmann at The Conversation.