How mapping trees in America's cities could fight inequality and slow climate change

The author describes the Tree Equity Score, a tool by American Forests designed to map urban tree cover against socio-economic data to identify neighborhoods lacking natural cooling. The document asserts that urban trees reduce temperatures by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit and provide significant climate and economic benefits, including carbon sequestration and energy savings, while noting that current tree distribution mirrors racial and economic inequalities in the US.

• Urban tree cover in the United States is unevenly distributed, with maps of tree cover reflecting existing patterns of income and race inequality, which denies cooling benefits to those most vulnerable to heat stress.
• The Tree Equity Score is a national tool that rates tree cover in American urban neighborhoods by analyzing it against heat risk, density, economic status, age, and race to guide public and private investment.
• Urban trees provide critical climate mitigation and economic advantages, including the annual absorption of nearly 130 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and an average reduction of 7.2% in residential energy use for heating and cooling.
• Investment in urban forestry acts as an economic driver, creating 25.7 jobs for every $1 million invested.

APA

Daley, J. (2020). How mapping trees in America's cities could fight inequality and slow climate change. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/tree-equity-cities-forests-income-race-inequality/

Chicago

Daley, Jad. How mapping trees in America's cities could fight inequality and slow climate change. World Economic Forum, 2020. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/tree-equity-cities-forests-income-race-inequality/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Daley |first1=Jad |title=How mapping trees in America's cities could fight inequality and slow climate change |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=15 December 2020 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/tree-equity-cities-forests-income-race-inequality/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{daley2020how, author = {Daley, Jad}, title = {{How mapping trees in America's cities could fight inequality and slow climate change}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/tree-equity-cities-forests-income-race-inequality/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }