Urban Environmental Stewardship and Civic Engagement: How planting trees strengthens the roots of democracy

148 Pages·2015·0.725 MB·English

by  Dana R. Fisher, Erika S. Svendsen, James Connolly

Urban Environmental Stewardship
and Civic Engagement
Once considered the antithesis of a verdant and vibrant ecosystem, cities are
now being hailed as highly effi cient and complex social ecological systems.
Emerging from the streets of the post-industrial city are well-tended
community gardens, rooftop farms, and other viable habitats capable of
supporting native fl ora and fauna. At the forefront of this transformation
are the citizens living in the cities themselves. As people around the world
increasingly relocate to urban areas, this book discusses how they engage in
urban stewardship and what civic participation in the environment means
for democracy.
Drawing on data collected through a two-year study of volunteer stewards
who planted trees as part of the MillionTreesNYC initiative in the United
States, this book examines how projects like this one can make a difference
to the social fabric of a city. It analyzes quantitative survey data along with
qualitative interview data that enables the volunteers to share their personal
stories and motivations for participating, revealing the strong link between
environmental stewardship and civic engagement.
As city governments in developed countries are investing more and more
in green infrastructure campaigns to change the urban landscape, this book
sheds light on the social importance of these initiatives and shows how
individuals’ efforts to reshape their cities serve to strengthen democracy. It
draws out lessons that are highly applicable to global cities and policies on
sustainability and civic engagement.
Dana R. Fisher is a professor of sociology and the director of the Program
for Society and the Environment at the University of Maryland, USA.
Erika S. Svendsen is a social scientist with the US Forest Service and
co-director of the New York City Urban Field Station, USA.
James J.T. Connolly is an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy
and Urban Affairs and the Department of Political Science at Northeastern
University, USA.
Routledge Explorations in Environmental Studies
Nuclear Waste Management and Communicating Environmental
Legitimacy Patriotism
Nihilism and responsibility A rhetorical history of the
Mats Andrén American environmental movement
Anne Marie Todd
Nuclear Power, Economic
Development Discourse and the Environmental Justice in
Environment Developing Countries
The case of India Perspectives from Africa and
Manu V. Mathai Asia-Pacifi c
Rhuks Temitope Ako
Federalism of Wetlands
Ryan W. Taylor Climate Change and Cultural
Heritage
Governing Sustainable Urban A race against time
Renewal Peter F. Smith
Partnerships in action
Rory Shand A Global Environmental Right
Stephen Turner
Employee Engagement with
Sustainable Business The Coming of Age of the Green
How to change the world whilst Community
keeping your day job My neighbourhood, my planet
Nadine Exter Erik Bichard
The Political Economy of Global Fairness and Justice in
Warming Environmental Decision Making
The terminal crisis Water under the bridge
Del Weston Catherine Gross
Carbon Politics and the Failure Philosophy of Nature
of the Kyoto Protocol Rethinking naturalness
Gerald Kutney Svein Anders Noer Lie
Trade, Health and the Urban Environmental
Environment Stewardship and Civic
The European Union put Engagement
to the test How planting trees
Marjolein B.A. van Asselt, strengthens the roots of
Michelle Everson and democracy
Ellen Vos Dana R. Fisher, Erika
S. Svendsen and James
Confl ict, Negotiations and J.T. Connolly
Natural Resource Management
A legal pluralism perspective
from India
Maarten Bavinck and
Amalendu Jyotishi
“There is the tree in the cramped space of curbside seeking the warmth of
intermittent sunlight surviving with great hope. And there are the local
people who are making a difference and seeking a wider empowerment in
their civic life. This book tells a most necessary, but often overlooked, story
for our times.”
William R. Burch, Jr., Yale University, USA
“Fisher, Svendsen, and Connolly have written an important and engaging
analysis based on fi rst-hand experience of the tree planting initiative in
New York City. The book documents how the simple act of planting trees
at once serves as an act of environmental stewardship, civic engage-
ment, community building, and public-private collaboration in support of
the huge goal of planting a million trees, and ultimately building a more
sustainable city and planet. Those who seek best-practice examples of
active stewardship will fi nd this book highly useful, not just for its careful
analysis of results, but also for its honest account of the challenges that such
‘hybrid governance’ approaches must confront.”
Kent E. Portney, Texas A&M University, USA
“Fisher, Svendsen and Connolly present a powerful testament to the
catalytic function that environmental action can have to not just improve
environmental quality but to galvanize the social interactions that shape the
vitality and beauty of our cities.”
Matthias Ruth, Northeastern University, USA
“Fisher, Svendsen, and Connolly’s rich and rigorous study of citywide
tree planting in New York provides an indispensable window on urban
environmental stewardship as a practical, scalable, and inspired form of
collaborative governance among public agencies, nonprofi ts, and engaged
citizens. Yes, we can and must invest in the resilience of our citizens and our
cities simultaneously, especially in the face of climate change.”
Carmen Sirianni, Brandeis University, USA
Urban Environmental
Stewardship and
Civic Engage ment
How planting trees strengthens
the roots of democracy
Dana R. Fisher, Erika S. Svendsen,
and James J.T. Connolly
First published 2015
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2015 Dana R. Fisher, Erika S. Svendsen, and James J.T. Connolly
The right of Dana R. Fisher, Erika S. Svendsen and James J.T.
Connolly to be identifi ed as authors of this work has been asserted
by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-0-415-72363-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-85758-9 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Keystroke, Station Road, Codsall, Wolverhampton
To the tree planters of today and tomorrow, including our young saplings
—Conrad, Kieran, Margot, and Roan.
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
List of fi gures xi
List of tables xiii
Acknowledgments xv
1 Urban environmental stewardship and civic engagement 1
2 Several million trees: how planting trees is changing
our civic landscape 17
3 Digging together: understanding environmental
stewardship in New York City 41
4 Seriously digging: why engaged stewards are different
and why it matters 66
5 Tangled roots: how volunteer stewards intertwine local
environmental stewardship and democratic citizenship 91
6 Implications for urban environmentalism, the environmental
movement, and civic engagement in America 115
Index 127