WHAT IS THE PROVIDENCE TREE PLAN?
Photo by Dominique Sindayiganza
The PVD Tree Plan is a collaborative project to develop a vision and action plan for
creating a just, resilient and equitably distributed urban forest in Providence!
Building off of the recently updated City Street Tree Inventory and Urban Tree Canopy study, as well as the City’s 2019 Climate Justice Plan, the PVD Tree Plan will:
- Set goals and recommendations for creating a healthy and resilient urban forest and an equitable distribution of trees across our city.
- Facilitate collaborative and community-led governance on green infrastructure planning
- Center the voices of Black, brown and Indigenous community members in the neighborhoods most impacted by a lack of trees and other environmental injustices
- Help build awareness of trees as a critical community infrastructure
- Pilot new community-driven planting and stewardship projects
- Recommend new strategies, programs, policies and funding streams to create an equitable urban forest in Providence
WHY TREES?
Trees provide many critical benefits for human and environmental health: cleaning our air and water; providing shade to lower energy costs and combat the urban heat island effect; improving mental health; adding beauty to our neighborhoods; and providing critical habitat for urban wildlife.
WHAT IS “TREE EQUITY?”
Providence’s trees are not distributed evenly among all neighborhoods. We are working towards Tree Equity, where everyone receives the health and environmental benefits of trees, regardless of where they live in our city.