What is your (U.S.) city's/neighborhood's Tree Equity Score?

[sopas ej]

Tree equity is the fair distribution of the benefits that trees provide to all communities, regardless of race or income level.

Tree equity refers to the concept of ensuring that all communities have equal access to the benefits that trees provide, such as improved air quality, reduced urban heat island effect, and increased recreational space; it's about ensuring that everyone has equal access to the health, environmental, and economic advantages of urban trees, which include cooling neighborhoods, improving air quality, and generating jobs. Organizations like American Forests use the Tree Equity Score (TES) tool to identify areas with low tree cover and high need, focusing tree planting efforts on neighborhoods historically disadvantaged by discriminatory practices like redlining.



Mine's 89.

https://www.treeequityscore.org/map

[JManc]

Houston is 90, my subdivision (Kingwood) is 100. It's boring as fuck out here but we have lots and lots of treeeeeeees!

[sopas ej]

Tree equity scores are calculated at the neighborhood (census block group) level.

A score of 100 is considered excellent for a Tree Equity Score, indicating a neighborhood has achieved the necessary tree canopy to provide its residents with the full benefits of trees; a score of 100 means a neighborhood has reached a defined standard for tree canopy cover.

Conversely, a lower score indicates a greater need for tree planting, as lower scores highlight areas that lack sufficient tree cover to mitigate heat, improve health, and provide other environmental benefits.

What a Lower Score Implies

-Need for investment: A lower score signals a higher priority for tree planting.

-Vulnerability: These are often communities more vulnerable to extreme heat and other environmental hazards due to insufficient tree cover.

-A gap in benefits: It indicates a shortfall in tree benefits for the local population.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

100 where I currently live in Lincoln Square.

100 where I grew up in suburban Wilmette.

Trees are ridiculously important to me.

Originally Posted by JManc

My entire subdivision (Kingwood) is 100. It's boring as fuck out here but we have lots and lots of treeeeeeees!

Excellent! Apparently my nabe has some WORK to do!

[craigs]

91 for my neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.

[The North One]

There's no way Phoenix has better tree coverage than many eastern cities.

Seems like another odd methodology.

[muertecaza]

Originally Posted by The North One

There's no way Phoenix has better tree coverage than many eastern cities.

Seems like another odd methodology.

It looks like the methodology starts with the baseline tree canopy for the specific biome. So Phoenix's baseline as a desert biome is going to be drastically different than eastern cities' forest biomes. Which makes sense I guess if you're speaking in terms of "equity." The exercise is not "who has the best tree coverage," it's "where are disadvantaged people disproportionately deprived of trees." It's also adjusted for density, so while I'm not certain I think that would shake out with Phoenix needing fewer trees to score well as well.

https://www.treeequityscore.org/methodology

"Tree equity" as applied here is a fairly useless metric IMO, but it's a fun site and map anyway. My neighborhood in Mesa, AZ gets a 96, and given their methodology it makes sense. Decent tree coverage given the desert biome. And if you look at the areas in Phoenix that score poorly, it tends to be the poorer areas.

[Boisebro]

100 in my neighborhood. i would've been disappointed in anything less considering Boise's nickname is the City of Trees. Other neighborhoods aren't doing as well, but the city is currently undergoing a challenge to plant 100,000 trees in city limits by 2030.

[muppet]

Trees are also a very effective sound barrier, biodiverse, soak up rainwater (see 'sponge city'), carbon offsetters, and help psycholigically, even just by being seen. Every city should plant as many as they can -they're adveresly perfect for urban life.

[iheartthed]

The score for my tract is 100. Seems like Brownstone Brooklyn scores surprisingly high overall.

[montréaliste]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

The score for my tract is 100. Seems like Brownstone Brooklyn scores surprisingly high overall.

While Burlington Vt scores a paltry 68. Lol

I am guessing Bernie will want to trade his colonial for a brownstone in his old stomping grounds.

[ColDayMan]

80 for me in on the westside of Columbus.

[mrnyc]

we get a 90 for st george staten island.

i dk how, seems very high as not any nature nearby vs elsewhere.

i know trees, but they seem to count other things too like ses and employment, etc., so the ocean counts maybe?

i see its in the middle of block groups for the city as a whole.