Benefits of urban trees to people and their potential contribution to all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals

• Urban trees provide crucial ecosystem services to humans • Urban trees can contribute to food security • Urban trees have the potential to conserve biodiversity • Urban trees meet all the SDG targets • Urban trees act as nature-based solutions to build sustainable cities Urbanization threatens biodiversity, ecological resilience, and human well-being. Currently, the critical role of urban trees in human well-being and mitigating environmental challenges is increasingly recognized. Nowadays, a major challenge is to combine urban development with sustainability. Therefore, this paper reviews and highlights the benefits of urban trees to people and discusses how urban trees contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. We also provide a discussion on the negative impacts of urbanization, including habitat degradation, climate change, and pollution, while emphasizing the potential of urban trees to deliver several ecosystem services and mitigate these challenges. Urban trees offer numerous ecosystem services (i.e., provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting), such as air purification, flood control, carbon sequestration, food provisioning, pollination, economic and aesthetic benefits, and mental health. However, challenges remain, including the integration of sustainable green spaces in urban planning and addressing social inequities in access to green spaces. In addition, the strategic use of native tree species in urban planning is critical to addressing environmental challenges in cities posed by urbanization. Furthermore, we additionally highlight that urban trees contribute directly or indirectly to achieving all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by promoting environmental justice, reducing social and gender disparities, and enhancing the quality of life for city dwellers. We argue that cities managed with a sustainable perspective have the potential to act as a nature-based solution, contributing to the provision of multiple ecosystem services in urban areas, which extends from environmental benefits to the sphere of social equity.