Infrastructure Bill Boosts Equity Focus for Urban Tree Plantings

U.S. cities that have been forced to rely on nonprofit groups and corporations to drive tree-planting efforts and boosting their urban “canopy” could soon get a new ally—the federal government.

The bipartisan infrastructure bill (H.R. 3684) moving in the Senate this week would expand federal support for mapping gaps via a Healthy Streets Program. The bill, which authorizes $100 million a year for five years under a federal grant program, also would put more efforts into tree cover for the poorest neighborhoods, where sidewalks are more rarely shaded from mature trees.

The funding could cover the purchasing and planting of ...