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Homebuilder Activities and Knowledge of Tree Preservation during Construction: Comparison of Practitioners in Rural and Urban Locations O’Herrin, Keith; Hauer, Richard; Pike, Kaitlyn; Vogt, Jess

Abstract

Preservation of existing trees is one of the few tools available to communities seeking to maintain or increase tree canopy coverage. This study compared the knowledge and activities of builders in an urban locale with a strict tree preservation ordinance and rigorous enforcement against a rural locale with no tree preservation ordinance. Overall, there were more similarities than differences between the two groups though some of those differences are very important. Urban builders and rural builders scored a very similar average of correct responses on questions testing their knowledge: 63% and 65%, respectively. The major difference between urban and rural appears to be in activities as dictated by ordinance. Urban builders were more likely to consult tree preservation experts and use tree fence to create tree protection zones. The successful tree preservation outcomes in the urban community are likely a direct result of ordinance requirements and enforcement by the City Forester, not builders’ knowledge or their conscious decisions.

Item Metadata

Title
Homebuilder Activities and Knowledge of Tree Preservation during Construction: Comparison of Practitioners in Rural and Urban Locations
Creator
O’Herrin, Keith; Hauer, Richard; Pike, Kaitlyn; Vogt, Jess
Publisher
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Date Issued
2022-02-26
Description
Preservation of existing trees is one of the few tools available to communities seeking to maintain or increase tree canopy coverage. This study compared the knowledge and activities of builders in an urban locale with a strict tree preservation ordinance and rigorous enforcement against a rural locale with no tree preservation ordinance. Overall, there were more similarities than differences between the two groups though some of those differences are very important. Urban builders and rural builders scored a very similar average of correct responses on questions testing their knowledge: 63% and 65%, respectively. The major difference between urban and rural appears to be in activities as dictated by ordinance. Urban builders were more likely to consult tree preservation experts and use tree fence to create tree protection zones. The successful tree preservation outcomes in the urban community are likely a direct result of ordinance requirements and enforcement by the City Forester, not builders’ knowledge or their conscious decisions.
Subject
home building; development; questionnaire; tree ordinance; urban development; urban forestry; urban trees
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2022-04-06
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
CC BY 4.0
DOI
10.14288/1.0412616
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/81100
Affiliation
Forestry, Faculty of; Non UBC
Citation
Sustainability 14 (5): 2753 (2022)
Publisher DOI
10.3390/su14052753
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher; Other
Rights URI
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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CC BY 4.0