Benefits of Parklands
The Green Seattle Partnership is a big effort with a long range, 20-year goal. But if we are successful we will leave a legacy for our children of a green Seattle for generations to come.
The benefits of restoring Seattle's urban forest are as clear as the need to do so. Urban forests give us a higher quality of life through a cleaner environment, reduced stormwater runoff and erosion, and the ability to enjoy nature close at hand.
According to Seattle Public Utilities 2004 data, Seattle’s forests provide the equivalent of $1 million per year benefit in stormwater management. Forested parklands create a sustainable, livable city by providing greenbelts. Greenbelts increase adjacent residential property values 15%, benefiting both landowners and the city through increased tax revenue. And as citizens are encouraged to live more densely within the urban core, amenities such as parks and greenbelts make the city more desirable. For trees planted along streets, green infrastructure benefits amount to $149 per tree each year (source: Western Washington and Oregon Community Tree Guide, USDA Forestry Service 2002)
In 1999, American Forests, a world leader in the science and practice of urban forestry, analyzed Seattle’s urban forest. The group concluded that from 1972 to 1996 the city lost 46% heavy tree cover and 67% medium tree cover. That loss cost Seattle $1.3 million per year in rainwater storage and management capacity and $226,000 per year in air pollution-related health care costs.
Forested parklands clean the air. All trees can capture carbon dioxide and help remove soot and other pollutants. For example, the average acre of conifer forest captures 13 tons of carbon dioxide each year. Forests do this by incorporating carbon into the wood mass of the tree and converting it into oxygen, which the tree releases into the air (source: JN). At the market rate of $6 per ton, this process, known as “sequestration,” provides city residents $195,000 of annual air cleaning service. In addition, conifers along roadways trap soot on their leaves, which results in cleaner air and reduced incidence of asthma.
