295 FASB, coffee in the lobby prior. To attend via Zoom, register at https://utah.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAtcuirpj8qG93Vbocc9QiXFJ81XdvhVQbR

Abstract: Trees and forests are integral to ecosystems, human health, and quality of life in cities. In the U.S., federal, state, and local governments increasingly promote trees for their social, economic, and environmental benefits and invest heavily in expanding and preserving urban forests. However, the focus on trees in cities is a relatively recent historical phenomenon, with the urban forestry concept only a few decades old. Thus, how we prioritize, measure, and value urban trees is socially contingent. In this presentation, I discuss some examples of the institutionalization of urban trees and examine how this affects our knowledge and thoughts about trees today.

Matthew Fry is in the Department of Geography and the Environmental and Sustainability Program at the University of Utah. He uses a political ecology framing to examine human-environment interactions. Previous research examined linkages between aggregate mining, building materials and urban form; energy governance, environmental justice, and policymaking for urban shale gas drilling; and how imaginaries of resource potential link to governmentality outcomes. Currently, he’s working on a multi-institutional, collaborative project examining the development and implications of human-technology partnerships in urban forest planning and management.