Institutional Arrangements for Urban Forestry
in Chicago and CincinnatiOrie L. Loucks

Miami UniversityFor successful urban forestry, we should begin with by knowing the physical and ecological resources of the regional urban area, including what has been reengineered ecologically. We need to understand both the region’s spatially distributed urban impacts and the publics needs. There should be a long-term focus on regenerative capacities of the diverse physical and biological elements in the area, including streams, wetlands, coastal shorelines, and garden areas, along with forests. We have to consider how to harmonize the physical resources of the urban environment, the native trees, the people, and the region’s institutions to meet changing urban conditions and human needs over long periods.
The Cook County Forest Preserve System (in the greater Chicago area) is over 30,000 ha, and provides a case study of a complex, urban forest system operating for nearly a century. The long-term management, and the needs of nearly 10 million people, have required institutional arrangements responsive to changes imposed on local hydrology and a dynamic biological diversity. Effects are seen not only on plant growth and tree cover, but also on secondary production of shoreline animals, fish, butterflies and bird life. Over the 100 years, the Forest Preserve has developed institutions linking it to several levels of government, and integrating a range of human interests into a range of habitats, not only forests of diverse species composition, but also stream-side shrubs, lake-side marshes and grasslands. The biological diversity, and how it contributes to recreational and spiritual needs of the human community has been critical for public enthusiasm for this use of urban land over five generations. All of this is influenced greatly by the nature of the Forest Preserve stewardship, and by the infrastructure and management approach they adopted. Cincinnati: area forests have been sustained in a similar way.