Detroit Tree Census - A New Perspective on the Urban Forest
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Intended Audience: GIS User, GIS Builder, GIS Developer, GIS Instructor, Student, Management, Other
Abstract
Urban trees are essential for the functioning of a modern city. Understanding and managing the tree canopy can be both expensive and time consuming. In most cases only street tree and trees on the local government land are measured but this only makes up part of the overall tree resource. To get both an understanding of the extent, diversity, health and distribution of the City of Detroit’s tree resource, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) funded a project to map all the trees within the City’s boundaries to support planting and management of the urban tree canopy by The Greening of Detroit (TGD) and the General Services Department (GSD) of the City of Detroit. Currently the City of Detroit has a tree canopy cover of around 26% and has a goal of increasing this Citywide to around 40%. To achieve these goals planting will be required on both public and private lands, so understanding the tree resource and opportunities for tree planting across all ownerships is important for both the management and the development of tree planting programs for public and private lands within the City boundaries, and across the region. The project leverages existing high resolution lidar dataset that was flown in 2021, tree inventory data, and 2025 summer imagery to create a wall-to-wall tree census of the City. This will result in information about every dominant tree within the boundaries of the City. These data will be integrated into enterprise systems for tree management and utilized for tree management and community engagement. The presentation will review the approach and results of the projects, and how tree census data will change the way we understand the urban forest and manage it.
Presenter
Arron Lee
Senior Account Manager - Mid-America, NV5 Geospatial
Arron Lee is a Senior Account Manager with NV5 Geospatial, supporting clients across the Mid America region. He helps public agencies, utilities, and community-focused organizations use lidar, imagery, and geospatial data to improve planning, asset management, and environmental decision-making. His work focuses on turning complex spatial data into practical insights that support better outcomes for communities.