Public Preferences for Street Trees

Study 1

Perth has some of the lowest levels of tree canopy cover in Australia. We sought to better understand public preferences for street trees, with the aim of attracting greater public acceptance of tree planting programs.

In a survey of 500+ residents from the Perth region, we found the public most prefer:

  1. Trees that support birds, insects, and reptiles

  2. Trees that require little water to survive.

What we know shapes what we grow: Environmental information treatment effects on urban tree choices

Full paper

Study 2

Building on Study 1, I tested whether providing information about the tree characteristics most important to the public influenced choices of most preferred street tree species.

Based on a survey of 1000 residents, I find:

  1. Respondents initially preferred trees with higher watering requirements, but this effect was reversed following a treatment introducing information about drought tolerance

  2. Individuals initially preferred trees that support biodiversity, and this effect was strengthened post-treatment.

Are you a WA Water Corporation Waterwise Council interested in discussing how these findings can be applied to your street tree programs? Contact me!

Public preferences for street tree characteristics: A best-worst scaling experiment

with Curtis Rollins, Michael Burton, David Pannell, Katrin Rehdanz, and Jürgen Meyerhoff

Full paper