Location, Location, Location: Modelling of Noise Mitigation by Urban Woodland Shows the Benefit of Targeted Tree Planting in Cities

David H. Fletcher, Joanne K. Garrett, Amy Thomas, Alice Fitch, Phil Cryle, Simon Shilton and Laurence Jones
Additional contact information
David H. Fletcher: UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
Joanne K. Garrett: European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter TR1 3HD, UK
Amy Thomas: UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
Alice Fitch: UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
Phil Cryle: eftec, Economics for The Environment Consultancy, 3rd Floor, 4 City Road, London EC1Y 2AA, UK
Simon Shilton: Acustica Ltd., 3000 Aviator Way, Manchester M22 5TG, UK
Laurence Jones: UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-15

Abstract: Noise pollution from road traffic is ubiquitous in modern cities and is the second greatest environmental risk to health in Western Europe. Urban woodland can provide substantial noise mitigation if located properly, yet such considerations are often absent from the urban planning process. Current approaches for quantifying this important ecosystem service (ES) do not account adequately for important spatial factors and are unable to identify effectively the best locations to place new woodland for noise mitigation. We present new methods, in which we exploit the concept of least-cost-distance, to map and value the mitigating effect of urban woodland, and to identify optimal locations to place new woodland. Applying these methods, we show that urban woodland currently provides Birmingham City (UK) with over GBP 3.8 million in noise mitigation benefits, annually. We also show that our new ‘opportunity’ mapping methods effectively identify the best locations for new woodland, achieving close to a maximum service with less than a quarter of the additional woodland needed to achieve it. This has important implications for the design and implementation of urban tree planting for noise mitigation, and these methods can be adapted for other ES, allowing consideration of multiple service outcomes.

Keywords: green infrastructure; ecosystem service valuation; urban green space; planning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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