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• Cities are increasingly data-driven, and it is timely to explore how the management of urban forests and green infrastructure can be integrated into smart city planning. • We propose an approach for conceptualizing smart urban forests and smart urban forest management , with examples and cases to date. • Digital technologies can be jointly used as tools to improve the delivery of forest benefits and enable stakeholder participation and engagement. • Current cases and "smart" urban forest projects reveal a focus on open data and citizen engagement. • There are promising lines of research and application using sensor networks, big data analytics, robotics, and augmented/virtual reality. Smart cities are increasingly part of urban sustainability discourses. There is a growing interest in understanding how citizen engagement, connected technology, and data analytics can support sustainable development. Evidence has also repeatedly shown that green infrastructure such as urban forests address diverse urban challenges and are critical components of urban sustainability and resilience. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether green space and urban forest management are gaining significant traction in smart city planning. It is thus timely to consider whether and to what extent urban forests and other green spaces can be effectively integrated into smart city planning, to maximize green benefits for all city dwellers. We address this gap by exploring current and emerging smart city trends and technologies, and highlight practical applications for urban forest and green space management. Current "smart urban forest" projects reveal a focus on novel monitoring techniques using sensors and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, as well as open data and citizen engagement, particularly through the use of mobile devices, applications ("apps"), and open-source mapping platforms. We propose a definition and promising approach to "smart urban forest management", emphasizing both the potential of digital infrastructure to enhance forest benefits and the facilitation of citizen stewardship and empowerment in green space planning. Cities are getting faster and smarter – can (and should) the trees, and their managers, do the same? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]