DECISION-MAKING FOR TREE REMOVAL IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT: INSIGHTS FROM LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN MALAYSIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v22i34.1623Keywords:
decision-making, tree removal, tree retention, development, local authorityAbstract
The decision to remove trees in development areas can avoid various risks caused by problem trees, but also involves the risk of losing valuable trees. This paper aims to investigate decision-making practices in relation to existing trees in development areas and identify the factors that influence those decisions. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with landscape architects from selected local authorities and analysed using thematic analysis. Only local authorities requiring a tree preservation survey for landscape plan applications and landscape architects participated in this study. The results show that all factors influencing tree removal decisions are interrelated and vary according to the circumstances. Lack of authoritative resources and spatial constraints have affected the rationality of tree retention decisions and led to tree removal. This study contributes to urban tree retention theory and may improve tree preservation and management strategies. Future research should explore the perspectives of other construction professionals to refine each of the results and conclusions.
Downloads
References
Brunner, J., & Cozens, P. (2013). “Where have all the trees gone?” Urban consolidation and the demise of urban vegetation: A case study from Western Australia. Planning Practice and Research, 28(2), 231–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2012.733525 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2012.733525
Clark, C., Ordóñez, C., & Livesley, S. J. (2020). Private tree removal, public loss: Valuing and enforcing existing tree protection mechanisms is the key to retaining urban trees on private land. Landscape and Urban Planning, 203, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103899 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103899
Conway, T. M. (2016). Tending their urban forest: Residents’ motivations for tree planting and removal. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 17, 23–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2016.03.008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2016.03.008
Croeser, T., Ordóñez, C., Threlfall, C., Kendal, D., van der Ree, R., Callow, D., & Livesley, S. J. (2020). Patterns of tree removal and canopy change on public and private land in the City of Melbourne. Sustainable Cities and Society, 56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102096 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102096
Despot, D. ;, & Gerhold, H. (2003). Preserving trees in construction projects: Identifying incentives and barriers. In Journal of Arboriculture (Vol. 29, Issue 5). DOI: https://doi.org/10.48044/jauf.2003.031
Gilbert, O. L. (1996). Retaining trees on construction sites. Arboricultural Journal, 20(1), 39–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/03071375.1996.9747096 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03071375.1996.9747096
Guo, T., Morgenroth, J., & Conway, T. (2018). Redeveloping the urban forest: The effect of redevelopment and property-scale variables on tree removal and retention. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 35, 192–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2018.08.012 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2018.08.012
Guo, T., Morgenroth, J., & Conway, T. (2019). To plant, remove, or retain: Understanding property owner decisions about trees during redevelopment. Landscape and Urban Planning, 190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.103601 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.103601
Ibrahim, P. H., Zahrull Pauzi, H. F., & Mohd Masri, N. N. (2019). The implementation of Tree Preservation Order in urban environment: public and local authority perception. Journal of Architecture, Planning & Construction Management, 9(1), 94–111. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31436/japcm.v9i1.337
Kirkpatrick, J. B., Davison, A., & Daniels, G. D. (2012). Resident attitudes towards trees influence the planting and removal of different types of trees in eastern Australian cities. Landscape and Urban Planning, 107(2), 147–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2012.05.015 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2012.05.015
Kirkpatrick, J. B., Davison, A., & Daniels, G. D. (2013). Sinners, scapegoats or fashion victims? Understanding the deaths of trees in the green city. Geoforum, 48, 165–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.04.018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.04.018
Klobucar, B., Östberg, J., Wiström, B., & Jansson, M. (2021). Residential urban trees – socio-ecological factors affecting tree and shrub abundance in the city of Malmö, Sweden. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127118 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127118
Kronenberg, J. (2014). Why not to green a city? Institutional barriers to preserving urban ecosystem services. Ecosystem Services, 12, 218–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.07.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.07.002
Morgenroth, J., O’Neil-Dunne, J., & Apiolaza, L. A. (2017). Redevelopment and the urban forest: A study of tree removal and retention during demolition activities. Applied Geography, 82, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2017.02.011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2017.02.011
Morton, A. (2006). Determining the retention value of trees on development sites. 7th National Street Tree Symposium, 110–123.
Nik Mohamed Sukri, N. A., Othman, N., & Wan Ariffin, W. T. (2017). A review on the needs to improve Malaysian Tree Preservation Order (TPO) (ACT 172). Journal of the Malaysian Institute of Planners, 15(4), 105–114. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21837/pmjournal.v15.i4.322
Nik Mohamed Sukri, N. A., Wan Ariffin, W. T., & Salim, S. (2022). Tree Preservation Order of Act 172: A Malaysian Legislation Towards Sustainable Urban Forests. In S. Maruthaveeran & Wendy. Y. Chen (Eds.), Urban Forestry and Arboriculture in Malaysia. Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5418-4_3
Ordóñez, C., Threlfall, C. G., Kendal, D., Baumann, J., Sonkkila, C., Hochuli, D. F., van der Ree, R., Fuller, R. A., Davern, M., Herzog, K., English, A., & Livesley, S. J. (2023). Quantifying the importance of urban trees to people and nature through tree removal experiments. People and Nature. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10509 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10509
Ordóñez, C., Threlfall, C. G., Kendal, D., Hochuli, D. F., Davern, M., Fuller, R. A., van der Ree, R., & Livesley, S. J. (2019). Urban forest governance and decision-making: A systematic review and synthesis of the perspectives of municipal managers. Landscape and Urban Planning, 189, 166–180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.04.020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.04.020
Ordóñez-Barona, C., Bush, J., Hurley, J., Amati, M., Juhola, S., Frank, S., Ritchie, M., Clark, C., English, A., Hertzog, K., Caffin, M., Watt, S., & Livesley, S. J. (2021). International approaches to protecting and retaining trees on private urban land. Journal of Environmental Management, 285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112081 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112081
Roman, L. A., Fristensky, J., Lundgren, R., Cerwinka, C., & Lubar, J. (2022). Construction and proactive management led to tree removals on an urban college campus. Forests, 13(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/f13060871 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/f13060871
Silverman, D. (2006). Interpreting qualitative data (Third). SAGE Publications Inc.
Simon, H. A. (1987). Bounded Rationality. In The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics (pp. 1–3). Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_472-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_472-1
Suchocka, M., Jankowski, P., & Błaszczyk, M. (2019). Tree protection on construction sites – Knowledge and perception of Polish professionals. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2019.126436 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2019.126436
Suliman, S., Samsudin, S., & Ahmad, M. H. (2021). Decision making principles in land development approval. Journal of the Malaysian Institute of Planners VOLUME, 19, 121–134. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v19i18.1038
Taherdoost, H., & Madanchian, M. (2024). Decision Making: Models, Processes, Techniques. Cloud Computing and Data Science, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.37256/ccds.5120243284 DOI: https://doi.org/10.37256/ccds.5120233284
Vogt, J., Gillner, S., Hofmann, M., Tharang, A., Dettmann, S., Gerstenberg, T., Schmidt, C., Gebauer, H., Van de Riet, K., Berger, U., & Roloff, A. (2017). Citree: A database supporting tree selection for urban areas in temperate climate. Landscape and Urban Planning, 157, 14–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2016.06.005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2016.06.005
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright & Creative Commons Licence
eISSN: 0128-0945 © Year. The Authors. Published for Malaysia Institute of Planners. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.
The authors hold the copyright without restrictions and also retain publishing rights without restrictions.
