Philadelphia's new "Tree Canopy Assessment" both records the damage of the past decade and makes the case for a new path forward when in comes to prioritizing the city's tree canopy.

"Philadelphia has lost the equivalent of over 1,000 football fields worth of tree cover over the last decade," reports Catalina Jaramillo, sharing the findings of a report released earlier this month by the city of Philadelphia.
According to the city's "Tree Canopy Assessment" [pdf], published with help from the University of Vermont Spatial Analysis Lab, TreePennsylvania, and the Gund Institute for Environment, trees offer a "plethora of ecoystems services," but the city's tree canopy has declined over the course of the last decade, led mostly by losses on residential land.
In response, "[Philadelphia] officials kicked off a first-ever ‘urban forest’ strategic planning process last week," according to Jaramillo. "The reduction in tree cover discovered by researchers will lay the groundwork for the 10-year plan to dramatically increase the city’s leafy cover."
FULL STORY: Philly neighborhoods need more trees. A new city initiative takes on the problem.

Planning for Congestion Relief
The third and final installment of Planetizen's examination of the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion.

Minneapolis Housing Plan a Success—Not for the Reason You Think
Housing advocates praise the city’s move to eliminate single-family zoning by legalizing triplexes on single-family lots, but that isn’t why housing construction is growing.

New White House Housing Initiative Includes Zoning Reform Incentives
The Biden administration this morning released a new program of actions intended to spur housing construction around the United States.

Proposed Transit Line Would Connect Downtown Tucson to Airport
Based on community input for a 15-mile transit line, residents want to see a focus on affordable housing development and anti-displacement measures.

Strip Malls as a Housing Solution
The American strip mall may be a dying breed of commercial development, but could the buildings serve a new use as sustainable housing?

Study: Most of Vancouver Is a ‘15-Minute City’
A large majority of Vancouver residents can access a grocery store in 15 minutes or less by bicycle or on foot.
Urban Planning Partners
Sandy City
Ada County Highway District
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Redwood City
City of Rohnert Park
City of Hot Springs
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