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Nonprofit to release 'tree equity' scores for urban areas

California Wildfires Redwoods
Posted at 12:14 PM, Jun 22, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-22 12:14:08-04

DETROIT (AP) — A Washington-based, nonprofit conservation organization says Detroit could use about 1.2 million more trees.

American Forests on Tuesday was to publish Tree Equity scores for 150,000 neighborhoods in 486 urbanized areas.

Each score is based on how much tree canopy and surface temperatures align with the number of people living in a given area or neighborhood, income, employment, race, age and health factors.

The scores indicate whether there are enough trees for everyone living in those areas to experience the health, economic and climate benefits that trees provide.

American Forests geographic information system and data science Vice President Chris David says low-income, predominantly minority neighborhoods have fewer trees than wealthier, mostly white areas.