Urban Forest Plan: View the Street Tree Map!

Boston's first ever Urban Forest Plan is underway. Our hope is that this Urban Forest Plan will help prioritize, preserve, and grow the tree canopy throughout Boston for decades to come. 

The first part of our work was the urban forest street tree inventory — an assessment of the existing conditions of the public street trees throughout Boston. The data collected during this tree inventory provides an important snapshot in time of the condition of Boston’s public street trees. Now that the inventory is complete, we're diving into the data to see what it tells us about this piece of the urban forest. 

Interested in becoming an arborist or learning more about tree care professions? This planning process will include community conversations around workforce development and how the Urban Forest Plan can support careers in tree care. Stay up-to-date on each phase of the Urban Forest Plan by signing up for our Healthy Places newsletter! 

Click the image to explore the web map

Public street trees are regulated by Chapter 87, also known as the Public Shade Tree Law. Per Chapter 87,  a public hearing is held on the first Thursday of every month to evaluate requests to remove healthy public street trees. Removals of dead, dying, or dangerous public street trees do not go through the tree hearing process. Trees other than publicly-owned street trees do not go through the tree hearing process.

Boston does not currently have a tree protection ordinance that regulates tree removals on private land or other public land. However, the Urban Forest Plan will include policy recommendations on what an equitable and enforceable tree protection ordinance could look like. 

• Interested in attending a tree hearing? Or, do you want to submit a public street tree planting or removal request? Please visit Caring for Boston's Urban Forest.
• Learn more about the details of Chapter 87.