Last year, Metro Vancouver set a target to expand its urban forests to cover 40 per cent of the region by 2050. But according to recently published data, that plan is already backsliding. …The latest numbers, presented in a report from Metro Vancouver staff, mean hard artificial ground now covers 54 per cent of the urban containment boundary, while only 31 per cent is covered by trees. The report says pressures from growth, along with new provincial housing legislation, “will likely lead to further tree canopy cover losses and impervious surface increases”. …[This] comes amid the projected arrival of one million more residents over the next 36 years, requiring 500,000 new housing units. …The Metro report says tree planting should prioritize high-density urban cores. Those include downtown Vancouver’s seafront, the Lonsdale area in North Vancouver, Richmond Centre and neighbouring areas, New Westminster, Surrey’s city centre, White Rock and the City of Langley.