In a bid to keep the country's most populated city greener, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality announced that it will plant 150,000 trees this year across the city of more than 14 million people. Amid a construction boom, the city's residents need more green spaces, and although small forests still remain somewhat close to the heart of the city, burgeoning new neighborhoods still have little room for trees.Local officials said in a written statement that trees will be planted in 300 locations in the city and 110,000 trees were planted in 2015. The city is already home to millions of tulips and flowers adorning parks, traffic circles and other spaces, but trees are confined to a few forests on the Asian and European sides of the city. Officials said 65 species will be planted throughout the year and the planting will focus on areas near water basins for preservation and on areas near highways to negate pollution by carbon monoxide emissions from vehicles.Ash, plane, umbrella pine, willow, olive trees, magnolias and similar species will be planted. In the past decade, green spaces increased 71 percent in Istanbul, where nearly 5,200 acres of parks, groves and other green areas spot the city's Asian and European sides. The greater Istanbul municipality built 442 parks in 11 years, ranging from spacious green areas on the Yenikapı shore on the European side to dozens of parks dotting Maltepe, Tuzla and other districts on the Asian side. Maltepe Park, also on the Asian side, on 520 acres, boasts being one of the largest in Istanbul, complete with a 7.5-kilometer cycling path and helipad.