The "Players" - Assessment of those impacting Charlotte's urban forest
The second step in assessing an urban forest focuses on the players impacting the trees and overall canopy - active or inactive. Gleaned primarily from multiple stakeholder and public meetings and review of existing projects and plans in Charlotte, performance in this category of criteria includes the assessed engagement of neighborhoods, large landholders, the green industry, cooperating city departments and agencies, funders, utilities, developers, general public awareness, and regional collaboration.
These indicators are summarized in the table to the right and shown in greater detail at the bottom of this page. |
Charlotte Players Rating: MODERATE
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OVERALL FINDINGS. There are many active players and groups throughout Charlotte, and there is a general awareness of the city's valuable canopy asset; however, most efforts are fragmented or short term and are operating without a set of unified goals, thus watering down the effectiveness of each effort.
One of the most significant findings from the plans's outreach and input gathering (via a survey and in-person public meetings) was that the general public does not have a way to get involved or start their own initiatives at the neighborhood level. Neighborhoods are often a source of high engagement in urban areas. Charlotte's neighborhoods, however, are not well-defined to citizens and city staff. Of the very few active groups, there is minimal exposure to tree canopy information and little knowledge of city efforts to protect canopy. Essentially, these active groups have no way to contribute. TreesCharlotte is currently one of the only avenues for residents for engagement at the neighborhood level, though this is often a one-time planting project and not a citizen-initiated, long-term local effort. This is a significant missing link to local efforts driven by residents and businesses. Learn more about the recommended neighborhood engagement plan.
Funders are somewhat engaged in urban forestry projects, especially since the creation of the TreesCharlotte nonprofit in 2012. There is likely more potential for funders to engage in their local neighborhoods.
City urban forestry staff are well trained and housed in the engineering division of the city's structure. This is a progressive placement for tree staff, as it shows consideration of trees as city infrastructure.
New opportunities and partnerships with large private landholders and regional entitites exist but are still untapped. Charlotte and its partners are operating at a moderate performance level based on a lack of formal local engagement and cooperation. Effective partnerships will emerge with a unified vision or cooperation plan.
One of the most significant findings from the plans's outreach and input gathering (via a survey and in-person public meetings) was that the general public does not have a way to get involved or start their own initiatives at the neighborhood level. Neighborhoods are often a source of high engagement in urban areas. Charlotte's neighborhoods, however, are not well-defined to citizens and city staff. Of the very few active groups, there is minimal exposure to tree canopy information and little knowledge of city efforts to protect canopy. Essentially, these active groups have no way to contribute. TreesCharlotte is currently one of the only avenues for residents for engagement at the neighborhood level, though this is often a one-time planting project and not a citizen-initiated, long-term local effort. This is a significant missing link to local efforts driven by residents and businesses. Learn more about the recommended neighborhood engagement plan.
Funders are somewhat engaged in urban forestry projects, especially since the creation of the TreesCharlotte nonprofit in 2012. There is likely more potential for funders to engage in their local neighborhoods.
City urban forestry staff are well trained and housed in the engineering division of the city's structure. This is a progressive placement for tree staff, as it shows consideration of trees as city infrastructure.
New opportunities and partnerships with large private landholders and regional entitites exist but are still untapped. Charlotte and its partners are operating at a moderate performance level based on a lack of formal local engagement and cooperation. Effective partnerships will emerge with a unified vision or cooperation plan.
The full matrix used to assess the trees in Charlotte using 8 indicators of a sustainable urban forest follows: