How Sidewalk Trees Help Prevent Injuries Due to Falls

Key TakeawaysTrees may help protect pedestrians against falls, new research suggestsOne likely reason: Folks slow down when it's shady and cooler, reducing their fall riskThe findings lend support for urban tree-planting campaigns.WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Building owners who resist sidewalk tree planting campaigns in fear that roots may damage sidewalks, cause people to fall and get them sued may want to reconsider.New research suggests that more trees may actually help protect against injurious pedestrian falls. "Sidewalk-related injuries represent a substantial public health burden," said senior author Andrew Rundle, a professor at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. "Unlike indoor falls, which are often linked to personal health factors, outdoor falls are shaped by environmental conditions," he continued in a news release. "Our findings suggest that tree cover, by lowering ambient temperatures, may help reduce fall risk."The study — recently published in the American Journal of Epidemiology — looked at data on tree canopy cover at close to 1,500 locations. They included 497 where emergency medical services treated pedestrians who were injured in falls between April and September 2019 and a control group of 994 in which no falls occurred.The takeaway: Locations where pedestrians fell were less likely to enjoy the cooling effects of shade than the matched control sites.Average tree canopy cover at injury sites was 8%, compared to 14% at control sites, the study found. "To our knowledge, this is the second study to show an inverse association between tree canopy cover and pedestrian falls," the study said. "The protective effect for tree canopy cover on falls in these two studies may ultimately be explained by the effects of trees on lowering ambient temperatures, as an emerging literature suggests that higher ambient temperatures are a higher risk factors for outdoor falls."People might simply slow down and enjoy a shady stroll where there are more trees, making a fall less likely, the study added."Walking has multiple health benefits and the findings provide new evidence that urban greenery, perhaps through cooling the local ambient environment, contributes to pedestrian safety," researchers said in a news release.They noted that while outdoor fall risk has long been associated with snow and ice, emerging data suggest that high temperatures can add to the risk, as well. How?"By adversely affecting human physiology and by degrading road and sidewalk surfaces," they explained in the news release. "High heat softens asphalt and causes sidewalk pavers to pop out of alignment creating trip and fall hazards."Shade may lower that danger, researchers said.Rundle said future research should examine how cooling effects of the tree canopy directly influence fall risk.More informationThe Nature Conservancy has more about the health benefits of trees.SOURCES: Columbia University Mailman School, news release, Oct. 15, 2025; American Journal of Epidemiology, Oct. 14, 2025.What This Means For YouShading neighborhoods may be safer to stroll than ones without trees, when it comes to preventing falls..Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

How Sidewalk Trees Help Prevent Injuries Due to Falls

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