Exploring Amsterdam, as a local or a tourist, you can see the importance of canals within the city. The 100+ km of canals define boundaries of neighbourhoods and a sense of uniqueness that no other city can replicate. The canals have become the identity of Amsterdam.
But there is an often missed element that is key to the identity and health of the city: the trees. There are estimated to be at least 800,000 trees in Amsterdam, that's one tree for every resident of Amsterdam.
The following map shows the 270,000 trees that are documented by the city of Amsterdam. Each tree is represented by a single dot on the map. As you explore the map, you can recognize the shape of canals, roads, and parks.
Interesting Historical Notes
Amsterdam was one of the first cities to approach tree planting as a key part of city planning. As of 1625, trees could be found along the entire length of the canal system. The number of trees continued to grow and reached over 40,000 trees by 1935. Only 25,000 of those trees survived World War II and the need for fuel during the last year of the war.
In my own neighbourhood, along Ceintuurbaan, you can find some of the trees that survived WWII. The plane trees along this stretch were planted at the turn of the 20th century.
A Thoughtful Finish
A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.
— D. Elton Trueblood
Acknowledgements
Tree data is from the City of Amsterdam. You can find this and lots of other data on their website: http://maps.amsterdam.nl/ .