NYC's tree census set to branch out by using high-tech 3D scanners

New York City’s decennial tree census will soon utilize cutting-edge technology to assess the health of more than 600,000 street trees.

The parks department plans to dispatch cars equipped with ground-based light detection and ranging scanners, also known as Lidar, to scan street trees.

“ We really just want to lean into innovation and leverage the new technology that's come out,” said Uma Bhandaram,  the agency's deputy chief of data systems and analytics.

Officials made the announcement as volunteer tree-counting events at city parks get underway around the five boroughs. The cars equipped with the scanners will hit the roads next spring.

Bhandaram said the scanners will capture 360-degree views of city streets that will look similar to Google Street View. New Yorkers will be able to see digital scans of trees and the surrounding urban environment, like scaffolding and cars.

“It allows us to understand the tree in a holistic way and really innovate our operations so that we can think about how to manage our urban forest in the environment that they're in.” Bhandaram said.

Once the parks department collects the scans, officials will use artificial intelligence to compile information on the trees’ size, species, location and health.

The new tech will not make volunteer tree counters obsolete. The parks department said it still plans to rely on human beings to tally park trees.

Participants at the tree-counting events receive a tote bag with measuring tape and a tree guide.

Volunteers then fill out information on each tree into a parks department app. The agency said it uses the data to determine where to plant more trees.

“We know that trees are not planted equitably across the city,” said Jessica Einhorn, the department's chief of forestry programs. “This initiative allows us to operationally plan and know where to plant trees to be able to give the shade and the benefits of trees to the communities that need them most."

Parks officials said the new scanning technology will help improve the health of street trees often overlooked by the city’s green thumbs.

AI will help the department collect the data much faster and bring more objectivity into the evaluation of each tree’s health, according to Bhandaram.

“We will likely have cars driving every single street throughout the city with the technology mounted on top of the car,” Einhorn said.