Biodiversity

As part of StreetsLA's strategic efforts to promote sustainability in all of our work, we are also committed to enhancing the spectacular biodiversity found within the City of Los Angeles.

One example of the biodiversity of Los Angeles is evident in our tree population. With approximately 660,000 street trees, our urban tree canopy is not only one of the largest in the nation; it consists of over 1,000 different species, varieties, and cultivars - making it one of the most diverse in the world.

StreetsLA is actively working on integrating more native tree species in the City's existing urban canopy and citing appropriate locations to maximize their benefits, and we have successfully secured millions of dollars in grant funding in the millions supporting biodiversity goals, such as median conversion projects, and integrating greening in active transportation projects.

In FY 21-22, StreetsLA received $10 million from the Clean California Local Grant Program, which will fund two transformative biodiversity projects in underserved communities: Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Equity & Connectivity through Greening and Creating Urban Habitat & Biodiversity through Median Greening.

The Bureau is working to create a regularly-funded Biodiversity Median Program to support the City's biodiversity initiatives, create passage and habitat for pollinators, address drought conditions through the use of California natives, and to create nature-based urban cooling. This program also aims to reduce visual blight and improve cleanliness while creating a sense of "place" in communities throughout Los Angeles.