01 / Data visualization · Vancouver

Vancouver’s Living Inventory

An interactive atlas of 184,422 public-tree records from Vancouver Open Data, connecting citywide patterns to individual inventory records and the streets around them.

View project

Explore the interactive inventory in a new tab.

60-second summary

Problem

A large public inventory is difficult to explore as rows alone. Geographic context and botanical categories offer more approachable ways into the data.

Role

Data visualization · Interaction design · Prototyping · Responsive web

Pivotal decision

Connect a selectable map, neighborhood and genus filters, searchable records, and an illustrated botanical index in one responsive experience.

Working prototype

A browser-based visualization with 171 genus/category illustrations, interactive nearby Street View, three dark palettes, and a scrollable mobile bottom drawer.

Dark Vancouver inventory map with a selected beech record and illustrated genus carousel — 01Interactive inventory atlas
A citywide map connects public-tree locations, neighborhood context, selected records, and genus comparisons.

Decisions and system thinking

From citywide patterns to a single recorded tree

Geography, comparison, and record detail form connected entry points into the same public dataset.

01 / Explore the map

Start with place.

Select map points, pan and zoom, or focus on a neighborhood. Genus filters and searchable tree records help move from a citywide view to a specific part of the inventory.

02 / Botanical comparison

Make categories recognizable.

A carousel pairs 171 genus/category illustrations with inventory counts and proportions. The artwork represents genera rather than photographs of individual trees. Three dark palettes offer different visual treatments of the same data.

03 / Responsive detail

Keep context within reach.

Selected records show location and recorded dimensions. Interactive Street View provides nearby street context, while a scrollable bottom drawer makes record details and the botanical index accessible on mobile.

Mobile inventory explorer with a scrollable bottom drawer showing a selected beech record — 02The mobile bottom drawer keeps selected-tree details reachable while preserving the map context.

Interactive nearby Street View dialog at 2652 Arbutus Street with location context and Google attribution — 03Nearby Street View adds street-level context. Imagery may be older and may not show the exact recorded tree.

Exploration workflow

Follow a question from map to record

01Explore the citywide inventory
02Focus by neighborhood or genus
03Select a map point or search for a record
04Inspect recorded attributes and nearby Street View
05Compare genera in the botanical index

Source and interpretation

An inventory of records, with clear limits

The City of Vancouver Open Data snapshot was retrieved on September 30, 2026. It contains 184,422 public-tree records, with 184,421 coordinates available to plot. Inventory is not canopy coverage and does not establish tree health, age, carbon storage, or private-tree totals. Recorded dimensions may be older than the snapshot. Illustrations represent genera; nearby Street View imagery does not verify an individual tree’s identity.

Design contribution

What I contributed across the product workflow

Geographic and botanical information design
Map selection, filters, and record search
Genus/category illustration system
Three dark visual palettes
Responsive record cards and mobile bottom drawer
Interactive nearby Street View integration
Source attribution and data-limit communication

City of Vancouver public-tree dataset