Climate Action

FRI-D02: Adapting to Changes: Urban Forest Actions from Coast to Coast

Friday, September 18, 2026

3:00 PM - 4:15 PM PT

1.25 PDH, LA CES/HSW

Speaker(s)

Rachel E. O’Leary (she/her/hers)

Partnership and Equity Supervisor
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)
Sacramento, California
David Lefcourt

City Arborist/Tree Warden
City of Cambridge DPW
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Albert Z. Chen, ASLA, PLA

Senior Associate
Stoss Landscape Urbanism
BOSTON, Massachusetts

Access to urban forests is vital for health and climate resilience, yet cities face canopy loss, inequity, and management challenges. This panel highlights planning, implementation, and stewardship actions from Boston and Cambridge to Los Angeles and California, emphasizing equity, biodiversity, and adaptive resilience.

Learning Outcomes:

Describe the current status of urban forest programs and their different habitat types in Cambridge, Los Angeles, and California State, and identify the threats and challenges these urban geographies presently face.
Apply data-driven approaches to identify historical urban canopy inequities, analyze their impacts, and formulate priority strategies.
Evaluate the constraints and innovative solutions in tree equity improvement plans in the City of Los Angeles, including how improvements are assessed and established at multiple tiers of investment.
Analyze how a demonstration project addressing urban forestry objectives is designed, implemented, and maintained in the City of Cambridge.