Editing Atlanta (section)

=== Tree canopy ===
{{Main|Atlanta tree canopy}}
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| quote = For a sprawling city with the nation's ninth-largest metro area, Atlanta is surprisingly lush with trees—[[magnolia]]s, [[Cornus (genus)|dogwoods]], [[Pine|Southern pines]], and magnificent [[oak]]s.
| source = —''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]'' magazine, in naming Atlanta a "Place of a Lifetime"<ref name=inside-access>{{cite web|first=Jamie|last=Gumbrecht |url=http://blogs.ajc.com/inside-access/2009/09/17/atlanta-a-national-geographic-traveler-place-of-a-lifetime/ |title=Atlanta a National Geographic Traveler 'Place of a Lifetime' |publisher=Inside Access |date=September 17, 2009 |access-date=June 27, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230102913/http://blogs.ajc.com/inside-access/2009/09/17/atlanta-a-national-geographic-traveler-place-of-a-lifetime/ |archive-date=December 30, 2011}}</ref>
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Atlanta has a reputation as a "city in a forest" due to an abundance of trees that is rare among major cities.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brown |first=Robbie |date=July 21, 2011 |title=Atlanta Finds Its Identity as Tree Haven Is Threatened |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/22/us/22trees.html |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/22/us/22trees.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="publicbroadcasting.net">{{cite web |last=Bonner |first=Jeanne |date=March 4, 2010 |title=WABE: Atlanta's tree canopy at risk (March 4, 2010) |url=http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wabe/news.newsmain/article/0/6/1619579/Science/Atlanta%27s.tree.canopy.at.risk |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623132657/http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wabe/news.newsmain/article/0/6/1619579/Science/Atlanta%27s.tree.canopy.at.risk |archive-date=June 23, 2011 |access-date=June 27, 2011 |publisher=[[WABE (FM)|WABE]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Warhop |first=Bill |title=City Observed: Power Plants |url=http://www.atlantamagazine.com/article.php?id=207 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607192757/http://www.atlantamagazine.com/article.php?id=207 |archive-date=June 7, 2007 |access-date=September 28, 2007 |work=Atlanta}}</ref> The city's [[Peachtree Street|main street]] is named after a [[Peach|tree]], and beyond the Downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead business districts, the skyline gives way to a dense canopy of woods that spreads into the suburbs. The city is home to the [[Atlanta Dogwood Festival]], an annual arts and crafts festival held one weekend during early April, when the native [[Cornus (genus)|dogwoods]] are in bloom. The nickname is factually accurate, as vegetation covers 47.9% of the city as of 2017,<ref>{{cite web |last=Saporta |first=Maria |date=May 7, 2017 |title=Atlanta's urban tree canopy leads the nation; but most trees are not protected |url=https://saportareport.com/atlantas-urban-tree-canopy-leads-nation-trees-not-protected/ |access-date=September 28, 2018 |publisher=Saporta Report}}</ref> the highest among all major American cities, and well above the national average of 27%.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 25, 2010 |title=Tree Cover % – How Does Your City Measure Up? |url=http://www.deeproot.com/blog/blog-entries/tree-cover-how-does-your-city-measure-up |access-date=June 27, 2011 |publisher=DeepRoot Blog}}</ref> Atlanta's tree coverage does not go unnoticed—it was the main reason cited by ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]'' in naming Atlanta a "Place of a Lifetime".<ref name="inside-access" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Atlanta, Georgia – National Geographic's Ultimate City Guides |url=http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/city-guides/atlanta-georgia/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725081657/http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/city-guides/atlanta-georgia/ |archive-date=July 25, 2011 |access-date=June 27, 2011 |publisher=National Geographic Society}}</ref>

The city's lush tree canopy, which filters out pollutants and cools sidewalks and buildings, has increasingly been under assault from man and nature due to heavy rains, drought, aged forests, new pests, and urban construction. A 2001 study found Atlanta's heavy tree cover declined from 48% in 1974 to 38% in 1996.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 30, 2008 |title=Changes in Atlanta's Tree Canopy |url=http://www.treenextdoor.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=148&Itemid=179 |access-date=June 27, 2011 |publisher=Treenextdoor.org}}</ref> Community organizations and the city government are addressing the problem. Trees Atlanta, a non-profit organization founded in 1985, has planted and distributed over 113,000 [[shade tree]]s in the city,<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=http://www.treesatlanta.org/aboutus.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070922033545/http://www.treesatlanta.org/aboutus.html |archive-date=September 22, 2007 |access-date=September 28, 2007 |publisher=Trees Atlanta}}</ref> and Atlanta's government has awarded $130,000 in grants to neighborhood groups to plant trees.<ref name="publicbroadcasting.net" /> Fees are additionally imposed on developers that remove trees on their property per a citywide ordinance, active since 1993.<ref>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Matt |date=May 16, 2018 |title=Atlanta's Building Boom Is Destroying Its Famous Forests |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/atlantas-building-boom-is-destroying-its-famous-forests |access-date=September 28, 2018 |work=[[The Daily Beast]]}}</ref>