the nature diaries

Roots push through
the cracks in concrete,
Uninvited,
but still complete.
Still standing,
still doing their part,
Trees in a city
they know by heart.

I live near New York City, one of the world’s largest cities, and whenever I visit, I always wonder about how a city so large can sustain itself, how people can live there every day and still find wonder in it. Of course, being who I am, I wanted to believe it had something to do with nature. Whether true or not, this train of thought left me thinking about the influence of urban trees way more than can be considered normal.

Urban trees exist in the in-between. A tree growing out of a square cut into the sidewalk. Branches reaching toward the light between buildings. Leaves moving above traffic. They aren’t wild, but they aren’t fully controlled either. They live where we’ve left just enough room for life to continue, pressing roots into spaces never meant for them. It’s hard not to wonder how they manage at all.

Urban trees live in some of the harshest conditions possible. Their roots are boxed in by pavement, their leaves are coated with pollution, and their water supply is unpredictable at best. And somehow, they keep growing. They cool overheated streets, filter polluted air, absorb stormwater, and provide habitat for birds and insects that would otherwise have nowhere to go. What I thought was merely decorative actually plays a vital role in the infrastructure of a city.

What’s striking is how unevenly that infrastructure is distributed. Wealthier neighborhoods tend to have more tree cover, while lower-income communities and communities of color often live with fewer trees, higher temperatures, and worse air quality, and this isn’t accidental. Redlining and unequal urban planning decisions have shaped where trees were planted and where they were ignored, and the effects of those choices still show up in heat maps and health outcomes.

Urban trees also reduce energy use by cooling buildings naturally and help cities manage increasingly intense storms by absorbing runoff. As climate change makes urban living hotter and more unpredictable, trees are one of the simplest, most effective tools we have.

And yet, urban trees are often treated as expendable. They’re often cut down for development or removed for convenience.

Urban trees show us how nature adapts and persists, even with all the odds stacked against them. It teaches us that protecting nature in cities is just as important as conserving distant wilderness.