Published in NEXTPittsburgh.com
In 2014, National Geographic analyzed American cities’ urban tree cover — and found that Pittsburgh came out on top, with 42% tree cover. This “expanded urban forest removes 532 tons of air pollution every year,” noted the study.
Since then, the City of Pittsburgh has dropped to an estimated 41% tree cover, due to pests, invasive species like the emerald ash borer, disease, and lack of maintenance. American cities as a whole lose an average of 36 million trees a year.
