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Urban tree generator: spatio-temporal and generative deep learning for urban tree localization and modeling
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Abstract Urban trees are increasingly used by cities for cooling and climate adaptation. However, efforts to increase tree cover across cities have neglected to account for the trees' health and function, which are known to control their associated environmental benefits but have been difficult to assess at scales relevant for management. Here, we use remotely sensed, high resolution canopy temperature as a proxy for tree health and function and evaluate its relation to the built environment across Minneapolis‐St. Paul (MSP) using machine learning analyses. We develop a new index that incorporates information on urban trees' health and function, in addition to their presence. This index, when applied across MSP, suggests that canopy benefits may not be distributed equally even in neighborhoods with similar canopy cover. Furthermore, accounting for tree health and function can yield more effective and equitable benefits by guiding the location and magnitude of intervention for urban tree management.more » « less
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Abstract Redlining was a racially discriminatory housing policy established by the federal government’s Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) during the 1930s. For decades, redlining limited access to homeownership and wealth creation among racial minorities, contributing to a host of adverse social outcomes, including high unemployment, poverty, and residential vacancy, that persist today. While the multigenerational socioeconomic impacts of redlining are increasingly understood, the impacts on urban environments and ecosystems remain unclear. To begin to address this gap, we investigated how the HOLC policy administered 80 years ago may relate to present-day tree canopy at the neighborhood level. Urban trees provide many ecosystem services, mitigate the urban heat island effect, and may improve quality of life in cities. In our prior research in Baltimore, MD, we discovered that redlining policy influenced the location and allocation of trees and parks. Our analysis of 37 metropolitan areas here shows that areas formerly graded D, which were mostly inhabited by racial and ethnic minorities, have on average ~23% tree canopy cover today. Areas formerly graded A, characterized by U.S.-born white populations living in newer housing stock, had nearly twice as much tree canopy (~43%). Results are consistent across small and large metropolitan regions. The ranking system used by Home Owners’ Loan Corporation to assess loan risk in the 1930s parallels the rank order of average percent tree canopy cover today.more » « less
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null (Ed.)Abstract The expansion of an urban tree canopy is a commonly proposed nature-based solution to combat excess urban heat. The influence trees have on urban climates via shading is driven by the morphological characteristics of trees, whereas tree transpiration is predominantly a physiological process dependent on environmental conditions and the built environment. The heterogeneous nature of urban landscapes, unique tree species assemblages, and land management decisions make it difficult to predict the magnitude and direction of cooling by transpiration. In the present article, we synthesize the emerging literature on the mechanistic controls on urban tree transpiration. We present a case study that illustrates the relationship between transpiration (using sap flow data) and urban temperatures. We examine the potential feedbacks among urban canopy, the built environment, and climate with a focus on extreme heat events. Finally, we present modeled data demonstrating the influence of transpiration on temperatures with shifts in canopy extent and irrigation during a heat wave.more » « less
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00371-022-02526-x
