by K Schwarz , M Fragkias, CG Boone, W Zhou, M McHale, JM Grove, J O’Neil-Dunne, JP McFadden, GL Buckley, D Childers, L Ogden, S Pincetl, D Pataki, A Whitmer, ML Cadenasso

PLOS ONE 10(4):e0122051

2015

The distribution of urban tree canopy cover (UTC) was studied in seven U.S. cities (Baltimore, MD; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Raleigh, NC; Sacramento, CA; and Washington DC) to determine the relationship between UTC and race/ethnicity and median household income. UTC data were derived from high spatial resolution imagery (Quickbird, NAIP, and LiDAR); social data were taken from the US Census TIGER dataset. Across all cities a positive and significant relationship was found between tree cover and income. Results for race and ethnicity were mixed, with some cities showing higher UTC for some races and other cities showing the opposite.

Publication Type: Journal article
Keywords: aerial and satellite imagery, environmental justice, Los Angeles, race and ethnicity, tree canopy cover, and urban forestry