Urban Forests in the Desert?    (View PDF)

Ervin H. Zube and Christina B. Kennedy

Abstract: The first concerted efforts to establish urban forests in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona occurred around the turn of the century. Both cities developed and projected images of oases. During the 1950s Tucson began to abandon the oasis image. Phoenix, however, has maintained that image to date. Differences in life-style and in the availability of water, and the environmental movement of the 1970s have been suggested as factors that influenced the changing image of Tucson. This paper reports on a mail survey that was conducted to explore Tucsonans' attitudes towards urban trees. While respondents believe trees are important for the city and for residential streets, they place greatest emphasis on trees in their own yards and indicate an unwillingness to pay more property taxes for a municipal street tree program.

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https://doi.org/10.48044/jauf.1990.024