Table 1.

Reasons to have trees in cities, ranked by urban residents’ level of agreement with each statement.

Reasons to have treesRankzLevel of agreementy
Trees are important in downtown areas because they shade and cool their surroundings13.69 ± 0.03
Trees in cities help people feel calmer23.56 ± 0.03
Trees should be planted in business districts to reduce smog and dust33.49 ± 0.03
Trees should be used in cities because they reduce noise43.36 ± 0.04
Trees in shopping areas make people think the stores care about the environment53.18 ± 0.04
Trees should be used in cities because they make interesting sounds as their leaves rustle62.97 ± 0.04
Trees should be planted in cities to attract wildlife72.93 ± 0.05
  • zRanking based on the order of the means.

  • yMean ± margin of error, based on a 95% confidence interval. Means are based on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree).