Emerald City keeps losing its greenery
Seattle has lost an area of trees about the size of Green Lake, or 1.7% of its tree canopy, since 2016.
A new report from the city’s Office of Sustainability and Environment says poorer, disadvantaged neighborhoods lost the most tree cover.
Most of the 255 acres of trees lost from 2016 to 2021 seemed to stem from aging and dying trees, not real-estate development, according to the report.
The shade of urban trees can lower local temperatures and help the neighborhoods they’re in withstand extreme heat waves. Lower-income neighborhoods tend to have fewer trees than their wealthier counterparts.
RELATED: Heat wave could hit Seattle area neighborhoods differently
According to the latest aerial imagery and LiDAR surveys by the University of Vermont’s Spatial Analysis Lab, 28% of the Emerald City is covered in trees.
Seattle has a goal of 30% tree coverage, equitably distributed citywide.
City officials especially want to establish more shade trees in disadvantaged neighborhoods as the world’s climate keeps heating up.
More extensive shade could both protect vulnerable populations and reduce strain on the region’s electrical grid from the use of energy-intensive air conditioners.
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John Ryan
Environment Reporter
John Ryan joined KUOW as its first full-time investigative reporter in 2009 and became its environment reporter in 2018. He focuses on climate change, energy, and the ecosystems of the Puget Sound region.
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