News

From Planning to Action: Building the Future of Urban Forestry

Published: 29 April 2025

In a recent Makeathon organized in Malmö under the COST Action European Network for the Integrative Approach of Urban Forestry (INTUF), researchers and urban forestry experts came together to design a shared framework for analysing urban forest management plans from across Europe—and beyond—through a coordinated, scientific approach.

Building a Common Framework for Urban Forest Management

During the Makeathon, participants developed a strategy to collect and analyse urban forest management plans using a standardized method. This ensures consistency in data collection and paves the way for meaningful comparative analysis. Through the analysis of the plans the COST Action will identify a dashboard of indicators— such as canopy cover, biodiversity, and tree mortality—that can help cities monitor the health and sustainability of their urban forests. These indicators will ultimately support evidence-based decision-making and better communication with citizens and policymakers.

Participants also discussed the methodological challenges involved in conducting a meta-analysis of urban forest management plans in various languages and identified potential AI tools for translation and thematic content analysis. This will streamline the coding of key themes, strategies, and language used in different planning documents.

Looking Ahead: The Hackathon in September 2025

The Makeathon concluded with a roadmap for the next step: a five-day Hackathon in September 2025. This event will bring together a group of early career researchers (mainly PhDs and Post-docs) to begin the actual content analysis of the submitted plans. The Hackathon will help generate a draft scientific publication and a checklist for comprehensive urban forest planning—both key outputs for the COST Action.

A call for participants and host institution is expected soon. The Hackathon will be the beginning of a multi-year effort to build a powerful, data-driven understanding of urban forest governance across Europe.

Facts:

Urban forests are a key tool in the European Commission’s strategy for climate adaptation and sustainable urban development, especially as over 70% of the EU’s population lives in cities. Despite their many ecosystem benefits, urban trees often have a short lifespan, which limits their long-term impact. Urban forestry is a complex and multidisciplinary field, and current approaches are hindered by fragmented networks and a lack of standardised methods. The COST Action INTUF addresses these challenges by building a European network to assess and benchmark urban forests, develop science-based management strategies, and foster inclusive, cross-sectoral partnerships. A strong focus is placed on knowledge exchange, support for early career researchers, and capacity building in underrepresented countries.