In Louisville, Planting More Trees Is a Public Health Priority

A decade ago, Louisville earned an unwanted distinction: With sparse tree cover and no ordinances protecting trees on private property, the Kentucky city had the fastest-growing urban heat island in the US.

Since then, Louisville has been exploring a variety of green solutions to extreme heat and air pollution. The city launched assessments to determine how to protect and grow tree cover — and where it was needed the most — culminating in a recent initiative to create an urban forest master plan. In 2023, it earned a $12.6 million federal grant to plant thousands of trees in underserved neighborhoods from the Inflation Reduction ...