Micro-forests. The name might raise a few smiles and the odd ironic eyebrow. But the concept of the micro-forest is becoming ever more important in the planning of our cities, and looks set to be a solution rich in benefits in many respects.
As part of what is known as the ‘re-naturalisation of urban spaces’, urban micro-forests are a sort of green lung (some larger, some smaller) carved out of the notoriously dense and congested fabric of city areas.
Their first purpose is naturally to improve air quality, which has long since reached unsustainably poor levels, particularly in cities. But more generally, forestation brings nature and the city closer together, developing cost-effective actions and long-term measures capable of reducing the impacts of climate change, and thus helping to develop forms of what is technically defined as environmental stewardship.
Urban forests in fact play an important role in mitigating environmental stresses, regulating air temperature, slowing the run-off of rainwater and reducing noise pollution.
They also generate ecosystem services with recreational, social, psychological and aesthetic value: in a word, they contribute to the wellbeing of the citizens who live in that urban space.
