Faculty First Year Seminars 197ECO1 - Trees & Sustainability

It's estimated that 80% of the U.S. population lives in cities and towns, and the trend is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. Increasing population in urban and suburban areas increases the demand on the infrastructure of such places to sustain the residents. Trees are an integral part of the infrastructure, providing many environmental, economic, and social benefits; they make it easier for us to live sustainably. This is why so many communities (like Boston, New York, Washington DC and others) have started to plant more trees. It sounds simple: plant more trees and things will be fine. But there?s more to it: in order to realize the benefits that trees can provide, you have to plan and maintain the ?urban forest?. We will discuss how best to do so in this course.

Freshmen Only