This question is discussed in an interview with Cecil C. Konijnendijk van den Bosch, Professor of Urban Forestry at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver (CA). Urban forestry is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the planning, design and management of urban green spaces, and in particular with trees and forests as elements of these urban green spaces. Urban forestry is gaining importance because of health promotion policies, the improvement of quality of life in cities, and cities adapting to climate change. Urban forestry programs should be well connected with urban planning and feature a strong social dimension. Some good urban forestry programs can be found at the local level, e.g. in the city of Melbourne (AU). How ever, national urban forestry programs including political standards and funding are rather rare. In this respect, the most advanced urban forest policies can be found in the US; in Europe, the UK is probably ahead in terms of integrating urban forestry into national policies.