URBAN FORESTS: Framing a strategic approach to Urban foresting in Chennai city
"Urban forests refer to all the trees and shrubs found in an area, including ecological areas, parks, street edge and private trees. As urban
populations steadily rise around the world, discussions about the need for urban forests have become commonplace. Several cities have
made an effort to amplify their urban green, with diverse strategies and techniques including Chennai, where the concept of Miyawaki forests
have become very popular. This research attempts to take a critical look at the existing literature and case study examples of urban forests,
their characteristics, potentials and challenges, in order to formulate a strategic approach to urban foresting in Chennai.
A significant difference between urban forests and other natural ecological systems arises in the interaction between ecology and people in
the former, owing to close proximity of forests to everyday life and daily activities of people. Urban forests have the potential to have
immense social value in addition to their ecological impact. Therefore, this framework evaluates urban forests through two lenses, the
ecological and the social, with a primary focus on socio-spatial approach."
