If A Street Tree Falls … What Does It Take To Make Sound Policy?

…A paper written by an Indiana University professor and doctoral student, and presented at two international conferences, argues that thinking of street trees as a “common-pool resource” can help lead to better management of an under-appreciated community asset.

The paper, titled “Street Trees — A Misunderstood Common-Pool Resource,” was presented this summer at meetings of the International Association for the Study of the Commons in Cheltenham, England, and the International Society of Arboriculture in St. Louis.

In Cheltenham, Fischer also presented the paper in a pre-conference session on “new commons.” New commons are various types of shared resources that have recently evolved or been recognized as commons. They are commons without existing rules or clear institutional arrangement to govern their use or protection. Resource sectors identified in this widely expanding area include scientific knowledge, voluntary associations, climate change, community gardens, wikipedias, cultural treasures, plant seeds and the electronic spectrum.

Science Daily