Urban Forests as Green Infrastructure

In a Grand Challenge collaboration, Indiana University researchers are analyzing environmental change impacts in Indiana in an effort to help Hoosiers better adapt through an Environmental Resilience Institute Urban Green Infrastructure Analysis project. Green infrastructure is an important area of interest, with BUFRG faculty researchers Fischer and Mincey focusing on Indiana's urban forests.

In the early steps of this broad project area, we have identified two general research directions: Indiana Urban Green Infrastructure inventory and analysis and Project Greenspace (a Keep Indianapolis Beautiful effort) analysis (Mincey, Fischer). A second research area “Indiana Urban Forestry Programs: Are they addressing environmental sustainability?” has become a separate research project for the BUFRG team (Fischer, Moxley, Freeman-Day, Devoe, Hummel).

The cities which are best prepared for environmental change plan for and exhibit one or more of the following:

Resistance to changing as the environment changes
Resilience to withstand changes with the environment and return to an earlier state
Transition to a new state of equilibrium in the event of indefinite environmental changes

In our analysis of urban forest plans for Indiana cities, we are looking for examples where these traits are addressed either implicitly or explicitly.

Reynolds HL, Brandt L, Fischer BC, Hardiman BS, Moxley DJ, Sandweiss E, Speer J, Fei S. (2019). Implications of climate change for managing urban green infrastructure in Indiana. Climatic Change. DOI 10.1007/s10584-019-02617-0
Reynolds H, Brandt L, Widhalm M, Fei S, Fischer BC, Hardiman B, Moxley DJ, Sandweiss E, Speer J, Dukes JS. (2018). Maintaining Indiana's Urban Greenspaces: A Report from the Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment. Purdue Climate Change Research Center. Purdue University. West Lafayette, Indiana. 9 pages.
Mincey SK and H Reynolds.2018. Inventorying and analyzing urban green infrastructure for community resilience: Best practices. National Council for Science and the Environment. January 23-25, Washington DC.
Presentation to USFS Class Urban Forestry Adaptation Practices and Planning, January 2018
Preparing Indiana Urban Forests for Environmental Change, Climate Change Response Framework Demo Page

Urban Forests as Green Infrastructure

Urban Forests as Green Infrastructure

Resistance, Resilience, and Transition

Publications and Presentations

Bloomington Urban Forestry Research Group resources