Urban Forest 3-30-300

Measure What Matters

Urban Forest 3-30-300 provides a clear way to visualise access to trees and green space for every individual home within a town, city or county.  It is designed to help local authorities to see exactly where planting and investment will have the biggest impact for the people who live there.

3-30-300 is a simple but transformative rule, proposed by Dr Cecil Konijnendijk, a renowned urban forester from The Netherlands (www.nbsi.eu). It is based on the idea that access to nature, particularly trees and green spaces, offers numerous benefits, including improved mental and physical health, increased biodiversity, and better climate resilience.

It is based on three concepts:

3 Trees

Everybody should be able to see at least 3 mature trees from where they live

30% Canopy Cover

Everybody should live in a neighbourhood with at least 30% tree canopy cover

300 Metres

Everybody should live within a 300m walk of a high-quality public park or green space

Planting using the 3-30-300 rule

Knowing how your buildings and residential neighbourhoods score, you will be able to see clearly the areas in which tree planting and other greening efforts are most needed.  Our maps will allow you to see canopy gaps and planting needs at street level.

Increasing tree visibility, canopy cover, and access to green space have been shown to improve wellbeing, reduce stress, and strengthen connections between people and nature. Over time, following the 3-30-300 concept will lead to a healthier, happier population.

3-30-300 is rapidly being adopted as the standard for green infrastructure by towns and cities across the world. By adopting it locally, your authority can make its residential areas more liveable.

HOW WE CAN HELP

Treeconomics can help your town or city to work towards the 3-30-300 standard.

We will provide a clear visual map of your local authority area, showing which properties meet all of the criteria, and which meet only one or two.

 

We will provide building-level scores for:

  • 3 trees visible from each property
  • 30% canopy cover in each ward
  • 300m walk to the nearest green space

WHAT YOU'LL GET

GIS mapping layer for each category
(3-30-300)

Methodology​

Full Datasheet​

Insights Report

Insights Report

In addition to GIS maps, you will receive an Insights Report which examines the data and gives insights into what this means for your local authority area.

This strategic document will help you make sense of the findings, and can be presented to planners, councillors, and local residents.

A Rapid Insights Report is ideal if you just need:

  • The scores for your authority area (and subsets), broken down into the 3, the 30, and the 300
  • GIS mapping layers
  • PDF maps for non-specialists

If you want to go further, a Full Insights Report will deliver recommendations on:

  • Which streets you should plant in to most improve the visibility of trees
  • Which residents have the greatest need for increased tree canopy
  • Which parks and green spaces are the most/least accessible to those that live near them


With this information, you will be able to see exactly where planting and investment will generate the most benefits for your residents.

“Not just pretty maps. Insights you can act upon.”

Feature Rapid Insights Report Full Insights Report
Residential building-level scoring (3 trees, 30% canopy, 300m green space)✓✓
Clear, visual map layers (GIS)✓✓
Authority and ward-level statistics✓✓
Tree equity score data included✓✓
Visual data that is accessible to funders and councillors✓✓
Customisable internal boundaries✓✓
Detailed ‘Insights Report’ with analysis and interpretation✗✓
Actionable recommendations for policy and planting✗✓

THE BENEFITS

By showing how your buildings and neighbourhoods score against the 3-30-300 benchmark, our maps make it easy to see where more trees and green spaces are needed most. You’ll be able to spot canopy gaps and identify the streets and areas that would benefit most from new planting.

The 3-30-300 data also give you solid evidence to support your funding bids and make the case for investment. Our clear, visual maps and reports turn complex information into something anyone can understand – perfect for sharing with councillors, community groups, or senior colleagues who want to see the bigger picture at a glance.

With these insights, you can plan with confidence and take the next steps towards creating greener, healthier, and more liveable places.

WHY CHOOSE URBAN FOREST 3-30-300 OVER A TREE CANOPY COVER SURVEY?

A Tree Canopy Cover Survey offers a clear, mapped view of how much tree cover exists, where it is, and how it varies across a borough or district. It allows a council to see gaps, set canopy goals, and prioritise areas for tree planting. Tree canopy cover is one of the most important indicators of a liveable and resilient town or city.

Urban Forest 3-30-300 goes a few steps further, showing the intersection of trees and people. While canopy cover is a genuinely useful marker of urban forest spread, it may be an abstract marker for non-specialists. “3 trees you can see, 30% canopy in your area, 300 metres walk to a park” is simple, relatable, and compelling.

But more than that, a tree canopy cover survey gives an overall percentage for a ward, city or borough, whereas 3-30-300 gives scores at building level. This is useful in practice, as it allows local authorities to identify exact streets, schools, and estates that most need attention.

In terms of its contributions to policy, 3-30-300 metrics can support multiple goals at once, as they connect directly to public health, equity, biodiversity, and access to nature. This means that the results are meaningful not just to tree officers, but also to planning teams, public health, transport, and councillors.

In short, 3-30-300 offers a simple, people-focused story: 3 trees, 30% canopy, 300 metres walk to a park. It offers more than the overall percentage figures provided in a tree canopy cover survey, although these are still valuable metrics.

WHY CHOOSE TREECONOMICS?

Our clients matter to us. We don’t just hand over a map and walk away – we provide a detailed report that explains what the data means, why it matters, and how you can use it to make real change. We interpret the findings clearly and offer practical recommendations on how your scores can be improved.

Treeconomics is the UK’s go-to organisation for the strategic planning of urban treescapes. But unlike many consultancies, we don’t stop there. Trusted by local authorities across the UK, we work closely with you to understand your local priorities and help define your urban forestry goals – even if you’re still shaping them.

Our team takes a personal, collaborative approach, ensuring that whatever your objectives, we’ll support you every step of the way to achieve them.

Methodology

We combine existing open-source GIS data (such as building footprints, canopy layers and parks) with line-of-sight (visibility cone) methodology. Each building is assessed against three criteria, the result is a visual scoring map.

  • For the 3 Trees criteria, we assume a minimum tree canopy size of 28m2.
  • For the 30% Canopy Cover criteria, we use a 1km circle centred on a property as a proxy for the neighbourhood.
  • For the 300 Metres criteria, we use journey distance on the ground, rather than a straight line.

Pricing

Insights Reports – Pricing

Price on application for populations exceeding 1.25m.

If you wish to purchase data and GIS layers only, please contact us.

Contact us about an Insights Report

Visit 3-30-300

For more information, including talks and interviews, visit the website of Dr Cecil Konijnendijk, proposer of the 3-30-300 rule.

VIEW WEBSITE

Global Case Studies

Want to see how the 3-30-300 rule is being used by governments, cities, organisations, and communities around the world?

VIEW CASE STUDIES