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Current Benefits Section to check citations, maybe work back in the scale / aesthetic value of big trees into social/emotional benefit section

Urban forests provide many environmental, economic and social benefits to cities. Among these are energy benefits in the form of reduced air conditioning by shading buildings, homes and roads, absorbing sunlight, reducing ultraviolet light, cooling the air, and reducing wind speed – in short improvement of the microclimate and air quality (McPherson 1994; McPherson & Rowntree 1993; Simpson & McPherson 1996; Coder 1996; Wolfe 1999; Hastie 2003; Lohr et al. 2004). Urban forests also absorb rainwater, improve biodiversity and potentially allow recycling to 20% of waste which is wood-based[1] Many cities today are dealing with stormwater management system issues where their existing systems can no longer hold the volume of water that falls in storms.[2] One sustainable solution to this is planting street trees with grates underneath them to hold water. Trees and their soils work to filter runoff pollution and soil contaminants by absorbing them and processing them into less harmful substances.[2] They also collect water in their limbs and release it back into the atmosphere over time.[2] This makes trees a solution to stormwater runoff issues and urban heating issues.

There are also economic benefits associated with urban trees such as increased land, property, and rental value (Morales et al. 1983; Anderson & Cordell 1988; Wolf 1998; Dwyer et al. 1992; Mansfield et al. 2005; Orland et al. 1992; Hastie 2003; USDA Forest Service 2003, 2004). Well-maintained trees and landscaped business districts have been shown to encourage consumer purchases and attract increased residential, commercial and public investments (Wolf 2004, 2007). Trees located in business areas may also increase worker productivity, recruitment, retention and satisfaction (Kaplan & Kaplan 1989; Kaplan 1992; Wolf 1998).



Urban forests also have social and emotional benefits. The link that humans have to trees has been theorized by Kellert and Wilson (1993) to be a genetically based emotional need to be close to trees and other greenery. According to their "Biophilia Hypothesis," millions of years of human survival and evolution depended on our ability to cope with the natural world[disambiguation needed]; learning what was safe and dangerous involved the imprinting of strong positive and negative emotional reactions to various natural stimuli. Although many people are no longer as dependent on nature for day-to-day survival, Kellert and Wilson suggest that closeness to the natural world is still critical for psychological well-being. Urban poverty is common to areas lacking green spaces.[1] Visiting green areas in cities can counteract the stress of city life, renew vital energy and restore attention, and improve medical outcomes.[7] Simply being able to see a natural view out of the window improves self-discipline in inner city girls.[8] Having regular access to woodland is desirable for schools,[9] and Forest kindergartens take children to visit substantial forests every day, whatever the weather. When such children go to primary school, teachers observe a significant improvement in reading, writing, mathematics, social skills and many other areas.[10]