Measuring the 3-30-300 rule to help cities meet nature access thresholds

M H E M Browning; D H Locke; C Konijnendijk; S M Labib; A Rigolon; R Yeager; M Bardhan; A Berland; P Dadvand; M Helbich; F Li; H Li; P James; J Klompmaker; A Reuben; L A Roman; W-L Tsai; M Patwary; J O'Neil-Dunne; A Ossola; R Wang; B Yang; L Yi; J Zhang; M Nieuwenhuijsen

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167739

Measuring the 3-30-300 rule to help cities meet nature access thresholds

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jan 10:907:167739. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167739. Epub 2023 Oct 11.

Authors

M H E M Browning¹, D H Locke², C Konijnendijk³, S M Labib⁴, A Rigolon⁵, R Yeager⁶, M Bardhan⁷, A Berland⁸, P Dadvand⁹, M Helbich⁴, F Li¹⁰, H Li¹¹, P James¹², J Klompmaker¹³, A Reuben¹⁴, L A Roman¹⁵, W-L Tsai¹⁶, M Patwary¹⁷, J O'Neil-Dunne¹⁸, A Ossola¹⁹, R Wang²⁰, B Yang²¹, L Yi¹³, J Zhang²², M Nieuwenhuijsen²³

Affiliations

¹ Virtual Reality and Nature Lab, Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29631, USA. Electronic address: mhb2@clemson.edu.
² USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Baltimore Field Station, Suite 350, 5523 Research Park Drive, Baltimore, MD 21228, USA. Electronic address: dexter.locke@usda.gov.
³ Nature Based Solutions Institute - Dutch Office, Zeist, the Netherlands.
⁴ Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
⁵ Department of City and Metropolitan Planning, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
⁶ Division of Environmental Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA.
⁷ Virtual Reality and Nature Lab, Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29631, USA; Environment and Sustainability Research Initiative, Khulna 9208, Bangladesh.
⁸ Department of Geography and Meteorology, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306, USA.
⁹ ISGlobal, Doctor Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Doctor Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Melchor Fernández Almagro, 3-5, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
¹⁰ Virtual Reality and Nature Lab, Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29631, USA.
¹¹ College of Physical Education, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
¹² Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
¹³ Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.
¹⁵ USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station & Northern Research Station, 4995 Canyon Crest Dr., Riverside, CA 92507, USA.
¹⁶ Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
¹⁷ Environment and Sustainability Research Initiative, Khulna 9208, Bangladesh; Environmental Science Discipline, Life Science School, Khulna University, Khulna 9208, Bangladesh.
¹⁸ Spatial Analysis Lab, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Plant Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA; School of Ecosystem and Forest Science, University of Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
²⁰ Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
²¹ Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
²² College of Landscape Architecture, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China.
²³ ISGlobal, Doctor Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.

PMID: 37832672
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167739

Abstract

The 3-30-300 rule offers benchmarks for cities to promote equitable nature access. It dictates that individuals should see three trees from their dwelling, have 30 % tree canopy in their neighborhood, and live within 300 m of a high-quality green space. Implementing this demands thorough measurement, monitoring, and evaluation methods, yet little guidance is currently available to pursue these actions. To overcome this gap, we employed an expert-based consensus approach to review the available ways to measure 3-30-300 as well as each measure's strengths and weaknesses. We described seven relevant data and processes: vegetation indices, street level analyses, tree inventories, questionnaires, window view analyses, land cover maps, and green space maps. Based on the reviewed strengths and weaknesses of each measure, we presented a suitability matrix to link recommended measures with each component of the rule. These recommendations included surveys and window-view analyses for the '3 component', high-resolution land cover maps for the '30 component', and green space maps with network analyses for the '300 component'. These methods, responsive to local situations and resources, not only implement the 3-30-300 rule but foster broader dialogue on local desires and requirements. Consequently, these techniques can guide strategic investments in urban greening for health, equity, biodiversity, and climate adaptation.

Keywords: 3-30-300; Environmental equity; Geographic information system (GIS); Urban green space; Urban planning.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Biodiversity
Cities
Humans
Residence Characteristics*
Trees*

Grants and funding

MR/V049704/1/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom