Why Are Cities Cutting Down Trees?

In the past few decades, Washington, D.C. has lost half its tree cover, San Diego, Calif.’s is off about a quarter. The cover in cities in Michigan, North Carolina and Florida has fallen to about 27 percent of what it once was. Chicago and Philadelphia have just 16 percent of their former cover. “Urban deforestation,” says Ed Macie, an urban specialist with the U.S. Forest Service in Atlanta, “compares with what’s going on in the world’s rain forests. Some regions have been urbanizing at a pace of over 50 forested acres a day, 365 days a year for over 20 years. That’s a pretty big deal.  more