"What does a city look like drawn in trees?" Cambridge, Massachusetts recently released an exhaustive database of all the trees on public property around the city.
The Boston Globe shares insights into the data contained in the Camridge Tree Map. For instance, "[the] most common are maple, honeylocust, and oak, with a healthy scattering of ornamental fruit and berry trees." The article includes a very colorful map, among other infographics, of the "density of blossoms" around the city.
"The map doesn’t include every tree in the city: It skips the many in private yards and on university property. But what remains is an intriguing snapshot of how a bird, a bee, or an ambitious grain of pollen might experience the city."
The database, released to the public in April, follows a seven-year effort by the Cambridge Department of Public Works.
FULL STORY: A tree map of Cambridge

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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