On the 5 & 6 April world experts in arboriculture, urban planning, urban forestry, public health, ecology, research and engineering, will congregate in Birmingham for an International Conference on the latest research and practices surrounding the environmental, social, and economic benefits of urban trees. The Trees, People and the Built Environment 3 Conference (TPBE3) will be significant in demonstrating the considerable benefits that trees bring to our urban futures in the 21st century, and provide an important platform for collaboration between professions.
The conference will focus on the greater integration of trees into our transport systems and the benefits they have on human health. By looking at success stories from around the world, experts will demonstrate how innovative planning focused on greenspace in our cities can improve traffic infrastructure and sustain the health of communities and people.
Dr Ian Buchanan (Manager, Natural Heritage and Forestry, Regional Municipality of York, Canada) explains:
“The integration of trees into large scale capital road projects is vital but such works have space demands and budget priorities which are often in conflict”
As James Urban (Urban Trees and Soils, USA) agrees:
“Designers, ecologists, soil and tree experts and engineers often work on the same projects with little communication or understanding of how one consultant’s work impacts on other goals”. [TPBE3] “Will bring together a wide range of requirements to enable the compromises and changes needed to build sustainable streetscapes that support all the required urban infrastructure from trees to storm water to transport”.
To further emphasise the influence of trees on public wellbeing. Dr Ann Marie Connolly from Public Health England will be lending weight to the day 2 discussions on the ‘Health Benefits of Urban Trees’
Peter Duinker, Dalhousie University, Canada notes that
“Trees in the city are vital contributors to human welfare in health, economic, social, and environmental terms […]. With well over 80% of us living in urban settings, it is clear to me that many urban dwellers will get their only experiences and benefits of trees in those settings”.
The 2011 and 2014 conference was praised for its quality of content and pioneering aim of bringing together a diverse group of professionals. As esteemed UK based architect Sue James explains
“if we are to have more urban trees and properly benefit from them, it’s vital that we embrace a cross-sector, cross- disciplinary approach for all built environment professionals including health professionals, civil engineers, architects and landscapers”
TPBE3 is hosted and organised by the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) on behalf of a group of partner organisations. For further information and booking visit: www.charteredforesters.org/tbpe3
Follow us @TheICF #TPBE3
-Ends
Media Enquiries
Hester McQueen
Marketing & Communications Officer
Institute of Chartered Foresters
+44 (0) 131 240 1425
Email: Hester.McQueen@charteredforesters.org
Notes to Editor
- Confirmed keynote speakers for this event include landscape planning and public health expert, Dr Matilda van den Bosch, University of British Columbia; Prof Miles Tight, Professor of Transport, Energy and Environment, University of Birmingham; and Maarten Buijs, Senior Project Manager at internationally acclaimed Dutch urban design and landscape architecture firm, West
- TPBE3 is hosted and organised by the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) on behalf of a group of partner organisations, including: Ancient Tree Forum, Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, Forestry Commission England, Forest Research, Fund4Trees, Green Infrastructure Partnership (TCPA), Institution of Civil Engineers, London Tree Officers Association, Municipal Tree Officers Association, National Association of Tree Officers, Place Alliance, Society for the Environment, Trees and Design Action Group, Urban Design Group, Utility Arboriculture Group and Woodland Trust Women in Transport – London
- Conference host, the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) is incorporated by Royal Charter as the only professional body in the UK to award Chartered Forester and Chartered Arboriculturist statuses. Full details of how to join the Institute, and routes to professional membership are available on the ICF website: charteredforesters.org
- Presentations, papers and news coverage from the 2014 Trees People and the Built Environment II conference can be accessed at charteredforesters.org/tpbeii-resources
- The proceedings for the 2011 TPBE conference can be accessed online here
- Join the Trees, People and the Built Environment group on LinkedIn to exchange information and ideas with natural and built environment professionals worldwide.
- TPBE3 Conference Chair, Prof Alan Simson, is a Chartered Landscape Architect and Urban Forester. Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Forestry at Leeds Beckett University, involved in research, trans-disciplinary teaching and consultancy on adaptive / landscape urbanism, urban forestry and green infrastructure.
- Dr Matilda van den Bosch has a medical background and has worked clinically as a physician in general practice and radiology. She has a PhD in landscape planning and public health and, since July 2016, she has been an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Matilda holds a shared affiliation between the faculty of medicine and faculty of forestry. In her research she explores how interactions with and exposure to natural environments and ecosystems can protect human health and how this displays in various populations across various socioeconomic conditions. She has published numerous scientific articles, book chapters, and policy reports, and is editor of the coming Oxford University press textbook on Nature and Public Health. Results from her studies may be used for healthier urban planning with improved conditions for both people and environment. Matilda works as a consultant for the World Health Organisation, the UN Environmental Programme, the Environmental Protection Agency of US, and the Climate Change and Innovation Bureau, Health Canada, and she is also president-elect of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment.
- Miles Tight is Professor of Transport, Energy and Environment in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Birmingham. He was previously a senior lecturer in transport planning at the Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds. Miles has been actively researching safety, equity and sustainability of travel for over 20 years with a particular emphasis recently on sustainability of transport. Most recently his research interests focus on walking and cycling, the nature of long term and large scale change in transport systems and the future design and form of sustainable urban areas. He has been involved in a wide range of research projects funded by UK research councils, the European Union and others in these areas and is currently leading the five year EPSRC STEP-CHANGE (Sustainable Transport Evidence and modelling Paradigms: Cohort Household Analysis to support New Goals in Engineering design) project. Mile is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
- Maarten Buijs is an experienced senior project manager at West 8 urban design and landscape architecture in the Netherlands; a position he has held since joining West 8 in 2007. He is responsible for business development, general practice management, staff development, and management of the company’s landscape projects. The latter most recently include the former Commonwealth Institute (now the British Design Museum and residential development), Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, NL, the Waterfront Toronto, Canada, and Jubilee Gardens on London’s South Bank. Visit http://www.west8.nl/
