By Dr. Charlie Hall, AIB President

I am very excited to be drafting my inaugural AIB President’s column. As our Past President, Dr. Marvin Miller, indicated in last month’s column, he and I will be rotating every other month in this column. As I pondered my topic, it seemed pertinent to talk about why beautification should be a priority for communities.

The national economy is steadily improving and the financial strength of most cities and municipalities across the country is such that their revenues are outpacing the costs of provided services. In my mind, however, it should never be a question of whether a city can afford to engage in beautification and preservation efforts, but a mindset that this is what we should do, even in times when the economic climate is stressed.

Each of the known quality of life dimensions (usually defined as social, physical, psychological, cognitive, spiritual, and environmental well-being) are impacted by various stimuli, but remarkably, all of them are impacted in one way or another by the efforts that communities put forth in ensuring green spaces and managed landscapes (comprised of flowers, shrubs, trees, and turfgrass) remain a vital part of their local infrastructure.  In other words, plants provide multiple benefits to communities in terms of local economic contributions, various environmental amenities (ecosystems services), and human health and well-being paybacks.

For example, some of the economic benefits of green spaces, parks, and other managed municipal landscapes are that the beautification of these areas draws customers to shopping districts, reduces shopper stress while they are there, enhances overall curb appeal for local businesses, boosts apartment and commercial building occupancy rates, increases revenue from tourism, creates local jobs (from various landscape design, installation, and maintenance activities), increases residential and commercial property values, and even reduces the costs of street repairs from the reduced temperatures resulting from shaded roadways and sidewalks.

Of course, being an economist, these types of economic benefits resonate with me. But empirical evidence from recent studies indicates that the drivers that create emotional bonds between people and their respective communities are consistent in virtually every city and can be reduced to just a few categories. Interestingly, the usual suspects — jobs, the economy, and safety — are not among the top drivers. Rather, people consistently give higher ratings for elements that relate directly to their daily quality of life: an area’s physical beauty, opportunities for socializing, and a community’s openness to all people.

These are but a few of the benefits of beautification efforts across the country. As presented in our brochure entitled Discover the Surprising Side of Plants (available on the AIB website), there are a plethora of other reasons why communities should be engaging in beautification efforts. Of course, it also makes sense for homeowners to beautify their own landscape in that perceived home values are positively influenced. Even in my own HOA, there is the annual debate about whether landscaping the front entrance is worth the cost of doing so. I am quick to remind them (in my most professorial manner of course) that our homes could experience as much as a 5.2% increase in value if the front entrance to our community is attractive (another research finding). I am amazed that folks are still hesitant to spend the necessary dollars to enhance our development. Nonetheless, good sense prevails and we continue with our current beautification efforts!

Lastly, let me draw this column to a close by reminding folks of our annual AIB symposium that is scheduled for Oct 2-4. This is our signature event that showcases all of the creativity and passion exhibited on the part of our participating cities with their beautification efforts. This year’s symposium will be held in Philadelphia and Katy Moss Warner, our symposium chair, has put together an awesome slate of speakers, tours, and special events. Hope to see you there!