There was an average of 68 trees per mile on 276 miles of city streets. A pathologist and an entomologist called in to look at these trees could not isolate the cause. Although some residential areas of Orlando enjoy a tree canopy of 60 percent, Koehler estimates the canopy for the whole city to be 30 percent. When you talk about a city that is expanding 30 percent is minimal. Orlando's rapid growth can be attributed to its warm climate and the 1971 opening of Disney World some 15 miles away.
Tourism is the city's number one industry.
According to 1980 census figures, metropolitan Orlando's population surged from 453,270 in 1970 to 700,055, a 54 percent increase in 10 years. Projections put Orlando's population at over one million by 1990. And trying to deal with its crown of aging oaks is just one of many concerns this growing city has to deal with. Orlando is planning to eliminate most of this expense by developing its own nursery. The city will still plant a number of oaks.