New York City's ambitious urban forest plan

New York City has released its first urban forest plan with a goal to cover 30% of the five boroughs with tree canopy by 2040. Officials periodically scan the city and measure how much is covered by tree canopy. The first scan was taken in 2010 and the latest scan was in 2020. Over this period, the tree canopy increased by three percent. However, this growth as not been even. Some areas have seen more canopy growth than others. Other areas have actually seen a loss of tree canopy. A 2017 research study found that 40% of land across the city could readily become tree canopy, either by planting new trees or fostering growth of existing trees.