One French City Is Planting Its Future—Two Trees at a Time

There’s a 240-year-old purple beech tree at Lakanal School in Sceaux, France, that towers 30 meters high with a trunk as thick as an SUV. It’s been designated a“Remarkable Tree”of France—a distinction that sounds quaint until you realize it’s part of something far more ambitious: an entire city betting that its future depends on keeping its canopy alive.

Sceaux, a municipality just south of Paris, isn’t content to admire its 65,000 trees and call it a day. In October 2019, the municipal council unanimously adopted a comprehensive Tree Charter—a set of policies and commitments designed to protect and expand the city’s urban forest. Mayor Philippe Laurent, who’s led the city since 2001, didn’t mince words about why:“This plant heritage is something that builds itself over time, it requires both individual and collective action.”

The threats are real. Climate change has meant less rainfall and more extreme weather. Pollution chokes roots. Disease spreads faster. Construction crews tear up soil. So Sceaux’s response is methodical. The city conducted a full inventory of every tree—and keeps it updated. It’s planted new species in alternating rows rather than monoculture lines, reducing disease risk. When a tree gets felled, two must be planted in its place. The city even offers subsidies up to €200 for residents who plant trees on their own land. A dedicated team monitors, prunes, and waters constantly. They’ve installed wheelchair-accessible grills to protect roots. They inject nutrient supplements into struggling trees.

It’s tempting to dismiss this as mere horticultural vanity, but the math tells a different story. Research from the European Forestry Institute shows that urban trees deliver measurable returns. Lisbon, for instance, earns $4.48 for every $1 invested in urban forestry—through reduced cooling costs, flood prevention, air purification, and improved resident health. As 68 percent of the world’s population is projected to live in cities by 2050 (up from 55 percent in 2018), urban forests aren’t a luxury; they’re infrastructure.

But there’s a catch. As Anna Massong, director of technical services at Sceaux City Hall, notes:“What we do here is never static. We’re constantly monitoring, constantly trying to improve.”Even with all this effort, convincing private landowners to maintain their trees remains a challenge. Mayor Laurent is candid:“It’s a charter, not a law. We can only use pedagogy. Some people simply don’t care, even if many do.”

What makes Sceaux’s approach worth watching isn’t perfection—it’s persistence. The city is treating trees as a long-term investment, not an ornament. By removing concrete at places like Ailantes Square and planting saplings to create shade and cool the urban landscape, Sceaux is reshaping the relationship between city and forest. In a warming world, that’s not quaint. It’s essential.