Image by Ian Whitehead

The European Forum on Urban Forestry 2025 in Zurich – “Urban Forests for Resilient and Healthy Cities”

EFI (European Forest Institute) represented the UNP+ Project at the 27th European Forum on Urban Forestry (EFUF) held in Zurich (3rd -7th June), to promote work being undertaken on the development of Urban Nature Plans across European cities. The event included a short presentation by EFI on the UNP+ Capacity Building Programme and the recent Europe-wide survey of local authorities and businesses involved in the sector.

About EFUF

The European Forum on Urban Forestry (EFUF) is a unique meeting place for practitioners, policy-makers, managers, educators and scientists who are active in urban forestry, urban greening and green infrastructure. Since 1998, the EFUF has met annually to discuss new developments, to exchange experiences, and to visit examples of best practice on planning, design and management of urban forests and themes related to nature in cities.

This year, the theme was “Urban Forests for Resilient and Healthy Cities”, with the Conference welcoming urban forest managers, policymakers, planners, decision-makers, researchers and enthusiasts from all over Europe and beyond. The event was co-hosted by the City of Zürich and ETH Zürich and a number of other local partners.

Linking urban forestry and UNP+ themes

Relevant topics for UNP+ included a focus on creating more healthy, resilient, inclusive and safe urban environments. Presenters included Lotte Dijkstra from the University of Newcastle, who inspired everyone with her study of radical community and stakeholder engagement, emphasising that inclusive urban forestry must bring in marginalised voices. Ayanda Roji from the City of Johannesburg, South Africa focused on the spatial inequalities that divide many cities, with her keynote speech, powerfully illustrating how urban forests can become spaces for social integration. Meanwhile, Anna Bornioli from the University of Surrey offered gender perspectives on safety in natural spaces, focusing on how vegetation and design interact with fear and perception of danger, especially for women and other vulnerable groups.

Linking urban nature policies to action on the ground

EFUF 2025 included a number of inspiring excursions which showcased how committed local authorities can transform neighbourhoods, through coordinated approaches which involve diverse stakeholder groups. The spaces concerned ranged from compact "tiny forests", which bring biodiversity to local residents, to the bold and visionary "Ueberlandpark" (“Overland Park”), a remarkable new urban greenspace. This linear park has been constructed over a 1.1 km enclosed section of Zurich’s northern motorway and has transformed the quality of life in surrounding residential areas. Thanks to this game changing initiative, local people, once affected by the constant drone of traffic, can now enjoy a green and peaceful oasis, literally on their doorstep. Interestingly, the area’s housing stock is managed through local housing associations, thereby preventing the potential for gentrification. This multifunctional project exemplifies how infrastructure, ecology, and public space can be integrated into a powerful urban transformation.

Guidelines for Urban Forests as Nature-based solutions

The numerous presentations and excursions at EFUF 2025 made it abundantly clear that urban forestry approaches have an important role to play in the development of urban nature planning. The Forum provided the perfect venue to distribute copies of the recently launched “Guidelines for Urban Forests as Nature-based solutions”. The Guidelines have been produced to assist those involved in the management of urban trees, and greenspaces to manage spaces for multiple benefits including ecological connectivity, human well-being, public health, social inclusion and nature recovery. The guidelines cover the following specific themes:

Effective urban forest ecosystem restoration, ecological rehabilitation, new approaches and methods.
Management guidelines for urban forests that cover key aspects of planning, policy and delivery for their role as a nature-based solution.
Mechanisms for public and stakeholder engagement in planning and managing UF-NbS, with specific attention towards less-privileged groups.
Change management and institutional reform for the better management of UF-NbS

The Guidelines bring together research and practice findings from Europe and China investigated through the Sino-European CLEARING HOUSE project (ran from 2019 to 2024). The Guidelines can be downloaded here directly from the CLEARING HOUSE website.

Looking ahead to EFUF2026

In summary, EFUF2025 was an inspiring, practice-orientated event thanks to the hard work of the organisers behind the scenes, particularly the City of Zurich and ETH Zurich, who made delegates feel particularly welcome through their impeccable organisation. The high turnout of younger, upcoming members from the urban forestry and urban nature community was particularly reassuring.

Planning is already underway for next year’s event which will be held in Malmo, Sweden; why not join us there? For more information see: https://efuf.org/

Author: Ian Whitehead (European Forest Institute).