cools sidewalks and buildings, has increasingly been under assault from man and nature due to heavy rains, drought, aged forests, new pests, and urban construction. A 2001 study found Atlanta's heavy tree cover declined from 48% in 1974 to 38% in 1996. Community organizations and the city government are addressing the problem. Trees Atlanta, a non-profit organization founded in 1985, has planted and distributed over 113,000 shade trees in the city, and Atlanta's government has awarded $130,000 in grants to neighborhood groups to plant trees. Fees are additionally imposed on developers that remove trees on their property per a citywide ordinance, active since 1993. Sister cities Atlanta's sister cities are: Montego Bay, Jamaica (1972) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1972) Lagos, Nigeria (1974) Toulouse, France (1974) Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK (1977) Taipei, Taiwan (1979) Daegu, South Korea (1981) Brussels, Belgium (1983) Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (1987) Tbilisi, Georgia (1988) Olympia, Greece (1994) Bucharest, Romania (1994) Cotonou, Benin (1995) Salcedo, Dominican Republic (1996) Torrejon de Ardoz, Spain (1996) Nuremberg, Germany (1998) Ra'anana, Israel (2000) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2004) Fukuoka, Japan (2005) Sassari, Italy (2020) See also Cities and metropolitan areas of the United States Notes References Further reading Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events: Years of Change and Challenge, 1940–1976 by Franklin M. Garrett, Harold H. Martin Darlene R. Roth and Andy Ambrose. Metropolitan Frontiers: A Short History of Atlanta. Atlanta: Longstreet Press, 1996. An overview of the city's history with an emphasis on its growth. Sjoquist, Dave (ed.) The Atlanta Paradox. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. 2000. Stone, Clarence. Regime Politics: Governing Atlanta, 1946–1988. University Press of Kansas. 1989. Elise Reid Boylston. Atlanta: Its Lore, Legends and Laughter. Doraville: privately printed, 1968. Many anecdotes about the history of the city. Frederick Allen. Atlanta Rising. Atlanta: Longstreet Press, 1996. A detailed history of Atlanta from 1946 to 1996, with much about City Councilman, later Mayor, William B. Hartsfield's work in making Atlanta a major air transport hub, and about the civil rights movement as it affected (and was affected by) Atlanta. External links Official city website Atlanta Department of Watershed Management Atlanta Police Department Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau Atlanta entry in the New Georgia Encyclopedia Atlanta Historic Newspapers Archive from the Digital Library of Georgia Atlanta History Photograph Collection from the Atlanta History Center Atlanta, Georgia, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage