It takes a forest: How intown development puts Atlanta’s tree canopy at risk

It takes a forest: How intown development puts Atlanta’s tree canopy at risk by Layla Bellows.

Within the 133 square miles that constitute the city proper, this is no trick of the eye. The tree canopy covers almost half of the city—47.9 percent to be precise—according to an assessment released in 2014 by the Atlanta Tree Conservation Commission and Georgia Tech. Using satellite imagery to determine coverage down to the neighborhood level, the researchers confirmed that Atlanta has the country’s densest urban tree canopy. Without an oceanfront or mountain chain or broad river flowing through downtown, Atlanta’s most distinctive natural feature is its trees. Despite stringent ordinances aimed at protecting those trees, our canopy faces a paradoxical new threat: renewed interest in urban living. Population growth within the city and a surge in denser development may represent eco-friendly shifts from Atlanta’s car-centric sprawl, but those trends are paired with infill development that puts trees—especially older, taller “overstory” trees that form the canopy—at risk and reduces space to plant replacements. - See more at: http://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/it-takes-a-forest-how-intown-development-puts-atlantas-tree-canopy-at-risk/#sthash.4Zmps3dS.PAjaRDGi.dpuf

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