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Asheville is still working through delayed plans for expanding the city’s tree canopy in order to reduce urban heat inequity. As Asheville, along with much of the Eastern U.S., experienced a sweltering weekend, the city is still planning for the future of its urban forest, in large part to combat the disproportionate impact of extreme heat on its lower-income neighborhoods, which tend to have fewer trees.
Ed Macie is a retired forester for the Forest Service, and a longtime member of the Urban Forestry Commission. He says there are three important legs to the stool as this process goes forward: community involvement, city administration and policy. And then, of course, the condition of the trees themselves — like age and species diversity, their actual health.
“It's important for the public to understand that this is a pretty complex process and that their input and the data all fits together and establishes goals,” he said. “Those goals will set the work plan for the city and its management of the resources for the next 10 years.”
A reboot continues, with some hiccups
Helene caused tree canopy data collected before the storm to be irrelevant, and it caused the city to focus on more immediate needs for the last year and half, according to Macie. The plan was re-started last summer. The original tree survey, done in 2022, showed some gains in local canopy, but it’s unlikely those gains held, making it difficult to get clear data on the canopy.
“We know that Hurricane Helene wiped out a lot of trees,” Macie said. “And then there's been a lot more building construction and land development.”
Some Urban Forestry Commission members are also concerned that the hurricane may have blunted public participation in the community engagement process. Michael Fisher, a recently appointed commission member with a background as an economist, told BPR that he hopes the public can still understand the plan’s importance.
“Helene reduced the interest in prioritization for these matters within the actual community,” Fisher said. “But if you remove that, this isn't just to address Helene. This is to go 15 to 20 years into the future.”
Post-Helene, the Helene People and Environment Recovery Board was consulted for advice on the Plan. The Urban Forestry Commission met less frequently than before the storm, with only two meetings documented on the commission’s webpage since Helene.
“Post Helene, it is important to coordinate our efforts through the appropriate Recovery Board as it would have a greater overall view of projects, community needs and priorities, funding opportunities, and project streamlining and coordination opportunities,” said city spokesperson Kim Miller, who added that both boards were being consulted equally.
Community engagement results show concern over heat, development
According to the project's public engagement analysis, the city reached over 2,375 people through a multi-pronged community outreach process, with a plurality of those coming from social media users; 300 were reached through the “UFMP Roadshow”, a traveling presentation about the Master Plan. Another 1,661 were contacted through an online survey, with a few hundred additional people participating in public workshops, meetings and one-on-ones.
The analysis notes ten themes that consistently emerged through the public feedback. Some of those included more riverside planting to prevent floods; increasing the tree canopy to smooth out health and heat inequities in the city; and balancing the city’s continued growth with an emphasis on natural character. Seventy percent of respondents listed lowering heat levels as a major concern in the plan survey.
Demographically, the engagement process’s respondents were 90% white, 60% with a household income of at least $50,000, 77% were homeowners, and 24% were between the ages of 66 and 75. The city also sought out students in a special survey at Asheville High School in order to get a younger demographic.
The city is looking at other municipalities of comparable size in the Appalachian region, the South, and the Rust Belt. This includes Knoxville, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Pittsburgh, for examples of some possible solutions.
This summer, the city will complete its assessment of the city’s urban tree canopy, and Urban Canopyworks will draft the master plan between now and December, with the final Plan to publish in January 2027.
