Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Q&A
  • Published:

Reflecting on urban greening at an historic inflection point with Theodore Eisenman

For a transdisciplinary perspective on urban greening at this particular juncture in history, we spoke with landscape architect and urban planner Theodore S. Eisenman about the contemporary upswell of interest in urban tree planting and related greening initiatives.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Examples of resource allocation across the three phases of an urban tree-planting initiative.

References

  1. Lawrence, H. W. City Trees: A Historical Geography from the Renaissance Through the Nineteenth Century (Univ. Virginia Press, 2006).

  2. Tan, P. Y. & Jim, C. Y. (eds) Greening Cities: Forms and Functions (Springer, 2017).

  3. Harnik, P. Urban Green: Innovative Parks for Resurgent Cities (Island Press, 2010).

  4. Ellis, E. C. Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford Univ. Press, 2018).

  5. United Nations. World Population Prospects 2024: Summary of Results (UN, 2024).

  6. Pataki, D. E. et al. Front. Ecol. Evol. 9, 603757 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Roman, L. A. et al. Ambio 50, 615–630 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Ulrich, R. S. Science 224, 420–421 (1984).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Frumkin, H. et al. Environ. Health Perspect. 125, 075001 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Hartig, T., Mitchell, R., de Vries, S. & Frumkin, H. Annu. Rev. Public Health 35, 207–228 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Eisenman, T. S. et al. Landscape Urban Plan. 187, 47–59 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Kumar, P. et al. Environ. International 133, 105181 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Matsler, A. M., Meerow, S., Mell, I. C. & Pavao-Zuckerman, M. A. A. Landsc. Urban Plan. 214, 104145 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Takacs, D. Thought & Action 19, 27–38 (2003).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Anguelovski, I. & Connolly, J. J. T. (eds) The Green City and Social Injustice: 21 Tales from North America and Europe (Routledge, 2022).

  16. Riedman, E. et al. Urban For. Urban Green. 73, 127597 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Eisenman, T. S., Roman, L. A., Östberg, J., Campbell, L. K. & Svendsen, E. J. Am. Plann. Assoc. 91, 133–143 (2025).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Eisenman, T. S., Flanders, T., Harper, R. W., Hauer, R. J. & Lieberknecht, K. Urban Forest. Urban Green. 61, 127006 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Nassauer, J. I. Landsc. J. 14, 161–170 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Groffman, P. M. et al. Front. Ecol. Environ. 12, 74–81 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Theodore S. Eisenman or Allison B. Laskey.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Eisenman, T.S., Laskey, A.B. Reflecting on urban greening at an historic inflection point with Theodore Eisenman. Nat Cities 2, 362–366 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-025-00216-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-025-00216-y

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing