CITY OF PITTSBURGH CONDUCT NEW STATE OF THE ART STREET TREE INVENTORY

The 2024 Pittsburgh Street tree inventory will be the first to ever utilize AI technology in order to expedite the process of inventorying street trees and to enhance our ability to support tree equity and environmental justice in urban areas.  

This will be done as part of a pilot program to use lidar sensing technology created by Greehill to produce 3D models and automated analyses of urban trees using a combination of high-resolution cameras, mobile laser scanning, terrestrial laser scanning, and proprietary machine learning algorithms. This comprehensive data will empower the City with detailed information to support urban forest monitoring, decision-making, and the development of strategies that enhance tree equity and resilience against the impacts of climate change. 

“We have to keep looking forward for ways to innovate and improve our city processes,” said Mayor Ed Gainey. “This new inventory process will allow us to use new technologies to better leverage our data in a way that provides a clear path forward for addressing inequities in how and where we plant street trees.” 

The scanning began on Sunday, September 1st and will last roughly 6-8 weeks.  During this process, residents may notice vehicles with extensive equipment driving through their neighborhood scanning trees.   

Visit the Davey Resource Group website to learn more about this project and its technology. Contact City of Pittsburgh Press Secretary Olga George to arrange interviews with the City Forester about this new technology.