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Abstract
As the quantity and severity of weather events increase with a changing climate, human developments will face increasing pressures towards urban tree risk mitigation. By collecting in-depth qualitative interview data from four Georgia communities and twenty-two Alabama communities, practices and perceptions towards tree risk management were explored in this research. Findings demonstrate existing needs in building community resilience towards urban tree risk on multiple levels of scale. Community attitudes towards both public and private risk management are explored, highlighting differences in how land ownership affects tree risk management. Practices and perceptions of municipal managers are also studied, allowing for a broader understanding of how tree risk liability is interpreted at the local government level. Findings were analyzed through a socio-ecological resilience lens, with implications for how cities and the residents within them can enhance local resilience towards environmental risk.