Summary

Urban forests provide us with many benefits, and they are an essential component of liveable, sustainable, healthy, and vibrant cities. This Module has presented the ecosystem service framework as one way to categorise and understand urban forest benefits. Please note that this is only one possible frame, and that it reflects a strong anthropocentric worldview. You are encouraged to read up on other ways of studying the value of nature – not only to us, but also for itself.

In the next Module we will look at how we make strategic decisions in urban forestry. We will introduce the concept of ‘governance’ as a way to better understand and analyse the often complex decision-making about urban forests.