Centering Community Perspectives to Advance Recognitional Justice for Sustainable Cities: Lessons from Urban Forest Practice

This study exposes several complex socio-political challenges affecting steward engagement in community-led tree initiatives and the broader pursuit of environmental justice, including discriminatory urban planning practices, gentrification concerns, underrepresentation of Black and Latinx voices in decision-making, volunteer-based tree-planting models, and tree life cycle costs. 

Grant, A., Edge, S., Millward, A., Teelucksingh, C., & Roman, L.(2024). Centering community perspectives to advance recognitional justice for sustainable cities: Lessons from urban forest practice. Sustainability, 16(12): 4915.

Related Resources

Vibrant Cities Lab has a new look, new resources and new ways to get involved in greening your city. We’re introducing several new digital resources including a Cool Corridors Guide, Urban Forestry Roadmap and Forest Health information that will help urban foresters and related professionals build thriving programs for their communities. 

On December 31, 2025, old.vibrantcitieslab.com (note the new URL) will close. Make sure you download any resources or action guides you don’t want to miss.

Get involved with us by sending your feedback on the new website or sharing your best urban forestry success stories with us at info@vibrantcitieslab.org.