SACRAMENTO — The city of trees is looking to nearly double its tree canopy over the next two decades.

The City of Sacramento approved an urban forest plan with a big goal to plant 25,000 trees a year to nearly double the city's tree canopy from 19% to 35% by 2045.

"It is like really hot," said Antonio Smith, who lives in north Sacramento. "It was 80 the other day and it felt like 100."

City Councilman Roger Dickinson represents north Sacramento, an area indicated in red on a city map depicting "heat islands." His district is one of the spots the city is prioritizing in this "Urban Forest Plan."

"You can tell which neighborhoods are the better-off neighborhoods and which are the more challenged just by the fact if they have trees or not," said Dickinson.

Rachel Patten, a climate action lead for Sacramento, said there are a lot of reasons why there are more trees in east Sacramento than in the north or south.

"As we built out areas, as we got air conditioners, they weren't built with trees in mind," said Patten. "We are trying to really change that."

She said it is sometimes harder for people living in lower socio-economic neighborhoods to have the money or time to plant and care for trees.

"We know from studies that have been done, where there are more trees, people are healthier," said Dickinson. "They get out more. They walk more."

Trees are used to beautify neighborhoods, bring shade and lower electricity costs, but the city hopes planting more trees will also bring some equity to neighborhoods that have felt forgotten.

The city said last year it planted 2,500 trees city-wide. The Sacramento Tree Foundation planted 3,000 trees within city limits.

The city budgets about $8 million per year to plant trees but hopes to increase this to reach this goal.

Dickinson said they will be working with community groups like the Sacramento Tree Foundation and SMUD to achieve the goal. They plan to start planting in the fall of 2025.

• Sacramento