Extract B

Is urban forestry a public good?

Municipal urban forestry programs have expanded rapidly. In the city of Oakwood, the "Green Canopy" scheme is funded through local municipal property levies and a small carbon offset partnership. This program allows residents to request up to two native shade trees planted and maintained in their front gardens for free.

Without municipal intervention, private gardening firms would underprovide these trees because they are unable to exclude non-paying neighbors and the wider public from enjoying the ecological, aesthetic, and cooling benefits, leading to market failure.

The scheme's charter sets out its main operational objectives:

• To reduce the urban heat island effect and lower ambient summer temperatures
• To intercept heavy rainfall, reducing storm runoff into municipal drainage systems
• To filter airborne particulate matter ($P{M}_{2.5}$) and lower localized asthma rates
• To establish ecological corridors for native pollinators in heavily paved wards
• To lower household energy consumption by shading residential properties from direct sunlight