🌳 For Earth Day: Trees at the Heart of the City… and on the Big Screen

April 22 is Earth Day — a perfect moment to reflect on our relationship with the environment, but also to shine a light on the concrete actions transforming our cities.

At Jakarto, our mission is to better understand urban territory through geospatial data. More than ever, trees — and the urban forest — are essential to building resilient, livable cities.

To mark the occasion, we’re revisiting three key blog articles, highlighting a new documentary, and showcasing inspiring initiatives from across Quebec.

🌱 1. Urban Canopy: A Key Player in Climate Resilience

Urban tree cover is more than a beautiful feature — it’s a natural defense against climate change. It mitigates heat islands, improves air quality, and promotes urban health. With mobile mapping and digital twins, cities can now precisely map their tree canopy and use it as a strategic planning tool.
🔗 Read the article

🌿 2. Where Should We Plant New Trees?

Planting trees is great — but location matters. By analyzing overhead infrastructure, existing vegetation, soil characteristics, and spatial constraints, Jakarto helps cities identify the best places for new trees, where they’ll have the greatest impact.
🔗 Read the article

💰 3. Smart Ecofiscal Policy: When Tech Supports Greening

Can taxation help fight climate change? With geospatial data, cities can pinpoint under-greened and exemplary properties — and apply fiscal measures that encourage urban greening. Data becomes a powerful lever for positive change.
🔗 Read the article

🎬 Urban Forests on the Big Screen

Urban forests are taking center stage in the new documentary Forêts urbaines, which explores our relationship with trees and city life. This touching and thoughtful film features voices from experts and everyday citizens — and includes the first-ever movie appearance of a Jakarto mobile mapping unit! 🎥🌲

📍 Catch the film in theaters across Quebec:

• Montreal: Cinéma Beaubien

• Quebec City: Cinéma Le Clap

• Trois-Rivières: Cinéma Fleur de Lys

• Sherbrooke: La Maison du Cinéma

👉 More info: https://foretsurbaines-lefilm.com/en/

🌍 Real-World Action Across Quebec

Earth Day is also about action. Across Quebec, cities are taking bold steps to expand and protect their urban forests:

• Montreal plans to plant 500,000 new trees to boost climate resilience.
  🔗 Le Devoir

• The CMM (Montreal Metropolitan Community) launched the Plan Arbre, aiming for 30% canopy cover across Greater Montreal.
  🔗 CMM News Release

• Rimouski adopted a new urban tree policy to guide and track their efforts.
  🔗 Radio-Canada

• Longueuil will plant 2,240 new trees this year in targeted greening initiatives.
  🔗 La Relève

• Terrebonne planted over 8,000 trees in 2023 — a major effort to green the city.
  🔗 City of Terrebonne

• Quebec City is targeting 500 trees in its central neighborhoods.
  🔗 Journal de Québec

• Châteauguay added 400 trees to its urban forest.
  🔗 City of Châteauguay

• Victoriaville organized a tree giveaway of 300 saplings to encourage community involvement.
  🔗 La Nouvelle

🌳 Trees as Tools for Transformation

This Earth Day, let’s remember that every tree planted is a promise for tomorrow.
At Jakarto, we believe technology — when used wisely — can accelerate the transition to greener cities. Whether it's mapping, planning, or measuring progress, we’re here to support municipalities in their urban forestry missions.

Happy Earth Day! 🌎

And don’t forget: every tree counts.