An upcoming New York City environmental plan has the potential to do a lot of good, and if it works, more cities should adopt similar measures. Cities are notoriously known for their excessive use of concrete and asphalt, as well as their lack of green spaces. Despite the fact that NYC has Central Park, many of its boroughs still lack a greater amount of green space than others.
That is where the Urban Forest Plan, which is a vision for a citywide urban forest. It’s led by the mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice, in collaboration with the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation and other city environmental foundations. The Urban Forest Plan hopes to plant more than seven million trees across various streets, yards, parks, campuses, businesses, and more, to increase accessibility to green spaces for people of any background.
Trees can be an amazing resource to cities and towns. Areas of cities known for heavy tree coverage experience lower temperatures and cooler ground compared to areas with little to no coverage from trees. Additionally, trees help clear the air, alleviate floods from storms, and beautify the areas in which they are planted.
Unfortunately, like with many other things that divide people by economic status, areas with little to no tree coverage are largely populated by people with low-income status. However, those also compound with racial divides. Many black and brown areas are also known to have few green spaces for people to enjoy due to systemic problems. The Urban Forest Plan aims to alleviate this by prioritizing disenfranchised areas in the project’s initial phase.
NYC isn’t the only city within the United States that struggles with a lack of green spaces. Communities across the country would do well to consider similar implemented plans. However, it doesn’t have to be limited to cities. Plenty of suburban towns would benefit from similar measures due to how many modern suburban areas are being built completely devoid of trees. More trees means more people would want to walk outside, especially during the summer months.
