The Departments of City Planning, Public Works Forestry Division, and Innovation & Performance have been collaborating with Tree Pittsburgh, UrbanKind Institute, and Resilient Cities Catalyst (RCC) to plant trees more equitably across the City.

In November 2022, the City and RCC were awarded a grant from the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) – Local Governments for Sustainability. ICLEI is an international organization that supports climate-oriented urban development. This grant was a part of their Action Fund to foster data-driven environmental and climate action at the local level.

The City and RCC used the grant to collect and analyze data to better understand and locate the hottest and most flood-prone areas of Pittsburgh. Based on the collected data, the teams targeted areas that would receive the highest benefit from planting trees in those areas.

Over the course of two years, the project team completed:

• 2 tree plantings for a total of 50 new trees in Beltzhoover along Estella Ave. and Climax St.
• 2 tree plantings for a total of 47 new trees in Hazelwood along Courtland St. and Blair St.
• 1 tree planting for a total of 21 new trees in Homewood along Hamilton Ave.

This collaborative work will continue through a Tree Equity Working Group at the City of Pittsburgh.

Using detailed, property-level climate risk data along with ecosystem-benefit calculations, our teams seek to develop a new community and neighborhood forestry methodology. This process will be used to strategically increase the urban tree canopy in Pittsburgh's hottest and most flood-prone communities. The trees we plant will provide shade, air pollution reduction, and storm water management to the immediate and even surrounding neighborhoods and residents.