The City of Pittsburgh, PA has announced an "urban forest master plan" to add more foliage to the 2.5 million trees already covering the city.
Tree cover reduces energy bills, but is primarily seen as an issue of happiness and health by the city and the USDA. The agency funded the data collection study that inventoried the city's urban trees.
Reporter Diana Nelson-Jones pulls some interesting data from the report:
"The master plan reports the city has more than 2.5 million trees that sequester 13,900 tons of carbon dioxide a year, saved residents $3 million in energy bills last year and remove 519 tons of pollution at a savings of $3.6 million a year. Street trees alone diverted 41.8 million gallons of stormwater last year."
The report also shows that more affluent neighborhoods have more trees. The plan proposes a 20% increase in the canopy over the next 20 years.
FULL STORY: The maple plan: Bringing the forest to the city
Pittsburgh Plans Pedestrian-Friendly Makeover on Downtown Street
Pittsburgh’s Smithfield Street could gain wider sidewalks, a bike lane, and more green space.
Pittsburgh To Assess Limited-Equity Coops as Affordable Housing Tool
The mutual housing developments known as limited-equity cooperatives give lower-income residents an opportunity to buy into a building where they could not otherwise afford it.
Pittsburgh To Revamp its Bike Share System With E-Bikes, New Stations
The system overhaul is partly due to nextbike's shift to focusing on its European markets. The new fleet will include 350 e-bikes and expand service to new neighborhoods.
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.
Car Noise Is Killing Us
It’s not just traffic collisions that kill—a new study from researcher at Rutgers finds that the loud noises emanating from cars has direct impact on heart health in Americans.
Parks as a Weapon Against Climate Change
The 2022 ParkScore finds that cities are increasingly employing green space as a tool for mitigating heat and extreme weather effects, but the distribution of parks remains inequitable.
Louisiana Capital Shifting to Electric Transit
The Baton Rouge area is now served by a fleet of nine all-electric buses.
New Community Engagement Practices for Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan Update
A major update of Seattle’s comprehensive plan is just getting under way, with new opportunities for local groups to get involved with outreach and engagement.
City of Malibu
EMC Planning Group Inc.
Jefferson Parish
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Rohnert Park
City of Hot Springs
City of Lakeway, Texas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.
