Post by @ml@ecoevo.social

2026-07-31 18:38 UTC

@sinabhfuil@mastodon.ie I haven't done any scientific study to test my hypothesis, but years of doing street tree study in LA made me hypothesize it happens because people in poor neighborhoods are generally renters and their landlords do not live in the same neighborhood. Whereas the wealthy own their own homes and care a lot about the "character of the neighborhood" where their own dwellings are concerned. They all know that tree cover means higher property values for homes.

Replies (3)

@sinabhfuil@mastodon.ie 2026-07-31 18:41

@ml@ecoevo.social Mm. I lived in a poor area and asked for trees. Council asked for a fee neighbours couldn’t afford bu they gave us ivy. A couple of years later the sprayer came around and the neighbours had to defend the ivy…

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@iBallesty@mastodon.ie 2026-08-01 08:53

@ml@ecoevo.social @sinabhfuil@mastodon.ie to add the counter factual: 45% of residence in European cities rent their accommodation, long-term. A very high percentage of European cities have or are moving towards tree lining and “natural cooling“ I suspect it may be not so much the physical ownership but the sense of ownership, and the social contract that exists between people living in an area and the administration that runs it

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@LillyHerself@mastodon.social 2026-08-01 09:14

@ml@ecoevo.social @sinabhfuil@mastodon.ie It costs money to have trees on a property, and also street trees cost money. For a person on a low income, the unexpected cost of dealing with large fallen branches after a storm can be devastating. Street trees are a cost for the municipality, as they can need trimming, they can become diseased and require expensive removal. Who pays when a fallen tree damages a vehicle in a storm? Who pays to saw it up and remove it?

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