Tuesday October 17th saw the second day of the World Forum on Urban Forests (WFUF2023) in Washington D.C., themed Inclusive Cities.
Organised thanks to the collaboration of FAO, Arbor Day Foundation, the United States Forest Service (USFS), the Smithsonian Institution, the Politecnico di Milano, the Italian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology (SISEF) and the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), this second event – following the 2018 Forum held in Mantua – has as its main theme Greener, Healthier and Happier Cities for All, to emphasise the importance of building inclusive cities in which the ecosystem goods and services of forests and trees are fairly and equally available to all city dwellers.
The event, of which Stefano Boeri Architetti is a technical partner, has Stefano Boeri as a member of the Scientific Committee.
The second day sees presentations and talks focusing on inclusivity in cities and the role of vegetation in making cities more accessible to the community.
This second day also sees a presentation by Stefano Boeri entitled Green Obsession: Trees Towards Cities, Humans Towards Forests, in which the green projects of the Stefano Boeri Architetti studio are presented with a focus on urban forestation as the most economical, sustainable and inclusive solution for improving the environment of cities.
Events include:
h:9.00 | Memory Forests – Rooted in Racial Equity | Brenda Richardson, Anacostia Parks & Community Collaborative | Chair: Jessica Sanders, International Arboricultural Society
h:9.30 | Green Obsession: Trees Towards Cities, Humans Towards Forests | Stefano Boeri, Stefano Boeri Architects | Chair: Jessica Sanders, International Arboricultural Society.
h:10.30 | No Country for Old Men: Planning, Designing and Managing Urban Forests to Make Them More Accessible and Inclusive | Chair: Phil Rodbell | Woods, Street Woods and Gateway Trees: New Concepts for Inclusive and Meaningful Urban Forestry | Cecil Koniinendiik
h:14.30 | The Fundamentals of Care: Developing urban forests and green spaces that are accessible to all, regardless of gender, age, physical abilities, etc. | Chair: Erika Svendsen | ParkLIV – an approach to increase the accessibility of urban forests; the non-physical dimension | Thomas B. Randrup
Among the topics discussed:
– the relationship between greening and gentrification: which strategies to adopt to ensure tree equity in urban regeneration processes
– tree equity score as a tool for monitoring social impact in urban forestation processes
– community involvement in the management and maintenance of urban forests
– how to orient retrofitting and urban regeneration to become useful tools for the equitable distribution of trees in the city
Other participants include:
Joanna Gibbons, landscape architect, commenting in her speech: ‘We have potential to shape forests – then, forests shape us’, emphasising the role of trees as a collective memory and common heritage to be safeguarded.
Abdallah Tawfic, architect, who focused his presentation Urban Green Egypt on the city of Cairo and how the distribution of green.
Tuesday October 17th also sees the symbolic planting ceremony of two dogwood trees in the garden of the Italian Embassy – in the presence of the Ambassador of Italy to the United States Mariangela Zappia – attended by Livia Shamir as Master of Ceremony, Project Leader of Stefano Boeri Architetti’s Research Department.
The symbolic gesture aims to underline the importance of green spaces, urban forests and sustainable development for all.
In addition to the Ambassadors of Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Lesotho and Zambia, the ceremony was attended by representatives of FAO, Politecnico di Milano, SISEF (Italian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology), Arbor Day Foundation, Ddot District Department of Transportation in Washington DC, USDA Forest Service, Smithsonian Gardens, International Society of Arboriculture and Restore Mass Ave.
Immediately afterwards, at 1.15 p.m., the ceremony includes institutional greetings from all the organisers and partners of WFUF2023.
For more information: www.worldforumonurbanforests.org