Dubbed the “city in the forest,” Atlanta has gained recognition for its direct effort to sustain tree populations. However, as urbanization and development increase, Atlanta’s tree canopy is beginning to experience a decline in density, losing the key attribute that once made it so special.
In the latest available canopy survey, conducted in 2018 by the City of Atlanta Department of Planning and Community Development and the Center for Spatial Planning Analytics and Visualization at the Georgia Institute of Technology, researchers found that the city’s canopy had declined by roughly 1.5% since 2008. Additionally, research from the 2018 City of Atlanta Canopy Assessment and Change Analysis shows how this trend has worsened within just five years, observing how “new building permits in the city of Atlanta increased from approximately 491 in 2012 to over 1,320 in 2017.” As industrialization continues, the tree canopy will almost certainly continue to decline at an increasing rate.
As this happens, it’s important to recognize the vitality of trees and the potential consequences we face if this continues unchecked. As is widely known, trees have a positive impact on human health. Judy Yi, director of marketing and outreach at the nonprofit Tree’s Atlanta, described one correlation of these pollutants: “In
neighborhoods where there’s the least number of trees, kids have a higher rate of asthma.” By filtering out air pollutants, trees are able to help reduce the amount of air pollution humans are exposed to. Therefore, with increased tree density in Atlanta, chronic respiratory diseases would likely be less prevalent within the community
Additionally, research from the 2018 City of Atlanta Canopy Assessment and Change Analysis shows how this trend has worsened within just five years, observing how “new building permits in the city of Atlanta increased from approximately 491 in 2012 to over 1,320 in 2017.” As industrialization continues, the tree canopy will almost certainly continue to decline at an increasing rate. As this happens, it’s important to recognize the vitality of trees and the potential consequences we face if this continues unchecked. As is widely known, trees have a positive impact on human health. Judy Yi, director of marketing and outreach at the nonprofit Tree’s Atlanta, described one correlation of these pollutants: “In neighborhoods where there’s the least number of trees, kids have a higher rate of asthma.” By filtering out air pollutants, trees are able to help reduce the amount of air pollution humans are exposed to. Therefore, with increased tree density in Atlanta, chronic respiratory diseases would likely be less prevalent within the community. Additionally, trees are essential for cooling down the city of Atlanta, where average summer temperatures hover around 89 degrees Fahrenheit. By preventing civilian exposure to dangerously high temperatures, trees help avoid many consequences associated with high sun exposure. Yi noted, “There are 12,000 heat-related deaths in the United States every year… when we talk about trying to preserve tree canopy and to increase the amount of tree canopy in cities… it’s really for the health of the people.”
In fact, Dr. Brian Stone, a professor in the School of City and Regional Planning at Georgia Tech, said that “if Atlanta planted trees in 60% of the spaces where planting a tree is possible, heat-related mortality would decrease by as much as 50% in some neighborhoods.”
Dense tree canopies also have many mental and social benefits. Dr. Roby Greenwald, associate professor and interim chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences at Georgia State University, stated, “One thing that’s pretty obvious about trees is that they provide shade. If you have a street that has tree landscaping along the edges, that means the sidewalks in particular are shaded, which makes walking along the sidewalks way more pleasant in the summertime.”
“if Atlanta planted trees in 60% of the spaces where planting a tree is possible, heat-related mortality would decrease…”
In Atlanta, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s records show that there have been 72 days in 2024 where temperatures have hit or exceeded 90 degrees Fahrenheit. In a dangerously hot city like Atlanta, having an increased number of trees would not only make social interaction in outdoor places safer but also more likely. Dr. Jason Gordon, an associate professor of community forestry at the University of Georgia, explained, “Green spaces are gathering places… people come together, and social interaction occurs, and that’s a very healthy, beneficial phenomenon.”
These benefits alone showcase the importance of trees in urban areas such as Atlanta. To acquire them, citizens of Atlanta need to become involved in tree preservation to sustain and increase the density of the tree canopy.
One way people can get involved in doing this is by volunteering through Trees Atlanta. The nonprofit organization works to preserve and plant new trees in Atlanta, specifically in places where they would have the most impact. They work with volunteers to accomplish large-scale projects involving trees and other greenery, which benefit all people and ecosystems within the Atlanta area.
Trees Atlanta encourages everyone to get involved, through small commitments or larger ones. Yi said Trees Atlanta has “volunteer projects 50 weeks out of the year… we [Trees Atlanta] plant, between the months of October and March, over 7,000 trees every single year.” Additionally, the organization hosts larger projects each year, as they are “getting ready for [their] annual Plantlanta project,” where they “plant about 600 trees in two days.” Additionally, Trees Atlanta is a noncommitment organization, meaning that one may volunteer sporadically throughout the year, whenever they find the time.
Another way that Atlantans can impact tree density is by contacting their local city council members. In fact, Yi described how all 12 council districts in Atlanta currently have at least one active tree-related project.
The City of Atlanta’s Tree Protection Ordinance is particularly essential to preserving the canopy and lays out the rules and laws involved with tree maintenance, protection, and removal. By advocating for these council members to update policy and regulation in the Tree Protection Ordinance, Atlantans can have a positive effect on increasing the amount of tree density within Atlanta’s canopy.
It is essential for people to become involved in this progressing issue before it is too late and the ability to replenish our tree canopy becomes improbable. When each member of the Atlanta community does their part in preserving and planting trees, all civilians can reap the many benefits that trees provide.