Our Urban Forest

Why map street trees?

 

Trees are one of the few pieces of urban infrastructure that increase in value over time (City and County of Honolulu Urban Tree Plan March 2019). Often underappreciated, these environmental workhorses provide multiple, free ecosystem services and support both climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Maintaining an accurate tree inventory (with details on plant health and site condition) supports better city planning and long-term asset management, as well as the identification of new planting opportunities.

Unfortunately, building and zoning policies and historic neighborhood changes have created an inequitable distribution of trees and their benefits. With rising temperatures, more heat waves, and changing rainfall and wind patterns, it is critical that we address gaps in our urban forest today.

Our urban forest provides countless benefits: social, economic, and environmental.

Trees improve water quality by managing rainfall runoff, save energy by reducing cooling needs in buildings, protect against heat by providing shade for people and surfaces, reduce air pollution by collecting particulates and sequestering carbon, enhance property values, provide wildlife habitat, facilitate better learning, and improve health outcomes, to name just a few of their benefits.

Urban Tree Inventory
Summer 2019