“Greenery as a Tool for Adaptation: Socially Rooted Innovations in UNIC Cities” Project
The main goal of the project is to design and implement a new functionality in the Łódź Tree Map application – a module enabling the estimation of the compensatory value of urban trees. Łódź Tree Map is a participatory digital platform launched in 2022, inspired by New York's NYC Street Tree Map. Over the past three years, volunteers have inventoried nearly 100,000 trees in Łódź, collecting data on their species, height, health status and growing conditions. The new module will allow for the determination of not only the replacement value of trees, but above all, their importance to the well-being and health of residents – a step towards a tool that will have a real impact on the management of green spaces in the city.
The project also includes comparative and educational activities in collaboration with University College Cork, School of Public Health. The Cork partners bring a public health perspective and the Healthy Cities concept to the project, which emphasises the link between access to urban greenery and the quality of life and health of local communities. Łódź and Cork are two cities with different cultural and institutional contexts, yet face similar challenges: how can greenery be protected and developed in an urbanized, post-industrial urban fabric? Joint meetings and exchanges of experiences between students and researchers from both universities will allow for a diverse perspective on these challenges.
The project fits into the broader context of the Socially Engaged Association, which has been engaging Łódź residents for years in active care for urban greenery and monitoring the condition of trees. Data collected by the Łódź Tree Map demonstrates the serious challenge posed by the condition of Łódź's greenery: nearly one in five surveyed street trees was assessed as being in average or poor condition and trees growing in concrete substrates fare significantly worse in health statistics than others. A new module within the application aims to help translate this knowledge into concrete arguments – both scientific and social – for better tree protection in the city.
The project team:
- Dr Patrycja Grzyś (Faculty of Geographical Sciences, University of Lodz) – the co-coordinator of the project within the Science Hub
- dr hab. Paulina Tobiasz-Lis (Faculty of Geographical Sciences, University of Lodz) – the co-coordinator of the project within the Science Hub
- Szymon Grodzki (Faculty of Geographical Sciences, University of Lodz) – a student of geoinformation
- Dr Christie Godsmark (School of Public Health, University College Cork) – a scientific supervisor from the UNIC partner
- Kendall Visco (University College Cork) – a UCC student involved in the project
- Szymon Iwanowski – The Socially Engaged Association, co-creator of the Łódź Tree Map project (mapadrzewlodzi.pl)
- Justyna Makulec – a dendrologist, social tree inventor, coordinator of the Łódź Tree Map project (mapadrzewlodzi.pl)
- Michał Brodowicz – a geoinformatician, creator of the Map of Trees of Łódź application, owner of the company Studio Analiz Przestrzennych Plan B
Science Hub UniLodz is a collaborative platform of the University of Lodz that connects students, academic experts and external stakeholders. It supports the development of innovative research and implementation projects addressing real-world challenges proposed by partner organisations.
The Science Hub UniLodz competition – UNIC edition is implemented as part of the “We are UNIC!” project. The “We are UNIC!” project is funded by the European Union under the “Support for European University Alliances’” programme, project NAWA FERS.01.05-IP.08-0219/23, amount: PLN 62,705,297.60.
