Assessing municipal urban planning tree data to support green infrastructure planning

Abstract

The European Union's Nature Restoration Law aims to protect and restore the EU's ecosystems, among which specific target goals were set for urban ecosystems. This requires local authorities to assess and monitor urban tree cover (UTC), supported by strategic urban vegetation planning. As urban trees provide various benefits, including microclimate regulation, incorporating urban microclimate analysis early in the planning process could support more informed green infrastructure planning. In Sweden, project-level urban planning is carried out by municipalities using several planning instruments, in which trees are represented in varying formats and levels of detail, with data stored across several information models. This limits vertical alignment – coordination between policy goal setting and operational follow-up. A common information model integrating tree data and related attributes could therefore improve data continuity and interoperability. This study evaluates the representation and usability of municipal urban tree data from multiple planning instruments within an urban development area in Stockholm, structured using a common information model. The study further explores the potential of planning-derived tree data for UTC estimation and microclimate analysis, while assessing the applicability of a common information model. Tree data from several planning instruments were analysed and compared regarding their representation, consistency, and capacity to support green infrastructure planning. The data were used for GIS-based UTC estimation and urban microclimate analysis of mean radiant temperature using the SOLWEIG model. The results indicate that tree data vary between planning stages in terms of representation, consistency, and semantic richness, lacking persistent object continuity between instruments. Generalized UTC estimation was possible despite simplified vegetation representations and missing canopy-related attributes. Microclimate analysis enabled indicative simulations of localized tree cooling effects, although generalized assumptions were required due to limited vegetation attributes in the data. The common information model could improve interoperability and continuity between heterogeneous planning instruments with richer attribute information available, however, links between corresponding tree objects were not utilized for environmental analyses. The findings highlight the need for more standardized and semantically richer urban tree data within the planning instruments, in order to support vertical alignment, environmental analyses, and lifecycle-oriented urban tree management within the planning and building process.

Popular Abstract

Cities are becoming increasingly important in efforts to address climate change and biodiversity loss. As part of the European Union's Nature Restoration Law, local authorities are expected to monitor and improve urban green spaces, including urban tree cover. Trees play a vital role in cities by providing shade, reducing heat, improving air quality, and creating more pleasant living environments. To ensure that these benefits are considered in new developments, trees need to be integrated into the urban planning process from an early stage. However, planning and managing urban trees is not always straightforward. In Sweden, information about trees is often spread across several planning documents – planning instruments – and digital systems, where trees may be described in different ways and with varying levels of detail. This can make it difficult to use the data for environmental analyses that could support planning decisions. This study examined how urban tree data are represented in different municipal planning instruments within a development area in Stockholm. The data were organized using a common information model and evaluated for their usefulness in supporting urban tree cover assessments and analyses of how trees affect local temperatures. The results showed that tree information differed considerably between planning stages and often lacked important details about tree characteristics. Despite these limitations, the data could still be used to estimate urban tree cover and simulate the cooling effects of trees, although several assumptions were required. The study also found that a common information model could help improve consistency and information sharing between different planning instruments. The findings suggest that more standardized and detailed tree data would make it easier for municipalities to monitor urban vegetation, perform environmental analyses, and manage trees throughout their life cycle. Improved data management could therefore support better planning decisions and help develop greener, cooler, and more comfortable cities.

• author: Stogeviciute, Migle
• supervisor: Lars Harrie
• organization: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (MGeo)
• course: NGEM21 20261
• year: 2026
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Earth and Environmental Sciences
• keywords: Geographical Information Science, GIS, Urban Planning, Urban Planning Instruments, Urban Tree Cover, Urban Vegetation, Urban Microclimate, Tree Data, Information Model
• publication/series: Student thesis series INES
• report number: 773
• language: English
• id: 9241420
• date added to LUP: 2026-06-18 16:31:51
• date last changed: 2026-06-18 16:31:51