Urban Equity Measure of Tree Canopy: A case study of New York City

Abstract

The urban tree canopy is widely recognized as an urban resource that contributes to the physical and mental health of residents, yet tree inequality is widespread. To achieve the goal of promoting tree equity and filling the gap in relevant academic research, this study develops a 2-step 9CNN model to obtain highly accurate urban tree canopy (UTC) data from high-resolution satellite images. New York City tree canopy data is obtained by this new method and correlates with New York City socioeconomic data to examine UTC's horizontal and vertical equity. OLS regression correlations of per capita UTC area with the number of elderly, poor, low-educated, and disabled were used to measure vertical equity. To avoid the interference of spatial autocorrelation, GWR models were used to test for spatial differences in vertical equity. The results of the horizontal equity study show that there is far less UTC space per capita in New York's urban centers than in the fringe areas. Vertical equity in UTC is poor across all of vulnerable groups and is particularly pronounced in some regions. These findings can subsequently help to develop policies for UTC equity and environmental justice concerns.