Key questions:

• What is Tree Equity?
• What is your community’s Tree Equity Score?
• How does Tree Equity intersect with the everyday experience of people in your community?

This step provides information on what Tree Equity is and why it’s important. Use this step to educate you and your team and get everyone to the same understanding of why Tree Equity is important to your organization’s mission.

Background and context for Tree Equity

When it comes to tree cover in America’s cities and towns, the canopy is often sparse and inadequate in neighborhoods with low-income families and people of color. The impact of racial injustice and systemic inequality can be seen in the urban forests. On average, communities of color have 45% less tree canopy than predominantly white neighborhoods, and low-income areas have 36% less tree canopy than the wealthiest neighborhoods.Changing the Face of Urban Forestry This is a problem because trees sustain us in fundamental ways; they reduce respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, improve social bonds and mental wellness, and promote the overall health of natural ecosystems. Trees are also deeply connected to food, religion and other cultural practices that are essential parts of societal life. Diverse cultures and religions have unique ways of relating to trees. People from different regions of the world often reminisce about the role trees and forests have played in their lives. Just as one example, many United States immigrants share the nostalgia of readily picking the native fruits from trees in their homeland. When trees are lacking in a community, their life-saving and social benefits also go missing.

There is a cost to not having trees. Areas with less tree canopy can experience higher surface and air temperatures, which contribute to preventable heat-related illnesses, death and associated medical expenses. U.S. heat-related deaths are expected to rise to 100,000 annually by the end of the century due to climate change.null This is compounded by the reality that marginalized communities often experience higher unemployment rates and pay higher utility bills due to a lack of shade from trees.Urban Heat Equity Many of the residences in these places experience poorer outdoor air quality and less energy-efficient homes, and residents struggle to find relief due to a lack of resources for indoor amenities, such as air conditioning. Opening a window can be a choice between suffering through extreme heat or breathing outside air laden with pollutants that can trigger respiratory distress. Children, people with pre-existing conditions and elderly populations are especially vulnerable to these conditions. The maps below illustrate the relationship between tree canopy and temperature in a few American cities.

A Tree Equity lens contextualizes this reality with an understanding that these conditions did not develop overnight. They are rooted in decades of systemic injustice and discriminatory policies, like redlining, which led to lasting disinvestment in communities of color that can still be seen today. Redlining was a federal housing policy, considered to have originated in the 1930s as part of the New Deal, where the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) created color-coded maps to assess the risk of lending money in different neighborhoods across more than 200 cities and towns. Those neighborhoods were ranked from least to most risky on an “A” to “D” scale, with those seen as riskiest outlined in red.

This practice had a profound impact on who was able to purchase homes, where they could be purchased, and the generational wealth that has accumulated across communities since that time. It is now well-documented that race played a significant role in the neighborhood ranking system and has led to persistent socioeconomic disparities in unemployment, income, education and career opportunities, and community investment. Redlined communities that have faced historic socioeconomic and racial segregation are more likely to have about half of the tree cover that historically higher income white communities have. This history of discrimination and decision making, including other policies like urban renewal in the 1950s and ‘60s, dramatically changed the landscape in U.S. cities and led to the displacement of many communities of color. Tree Equity contends with these legacies and asserts that more inclusive approaches to community-building are needed to center those most affected by discriminatory policies, like redlining, in the decision-making process of growing and managing the urban forest.

The climate and health issues that our communities face are complex and call for multi-faceted solutions. This guide focuses primarily on tree canopy-related activities around which communities can organize, but trees are just one part of the mosaic of solutions. The process and tools offered here can be adapted to many other topic areas that call for a community-building mindset.

Optional activities for additional learning:

• Research Tree Equity in the news and analyze where stories are being told and whose voices are missing.
• Assign this section as background reading prior to a first meeting with your team.
• Dive deeper to draw out the connections between redlining and the tree cover visible in the community today. Consider looking at HOLC redlining maps and facilitating a conversation with community members.
• If you are part of a block club or other neighborhood group, ask for 10–15 minutes on an agenda to talk about Tree Equity.
• If you represent an organization, map the intersections between Tree Equity and your organization’s mission and values.