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Examining the distributional equity of urban tree canopy cover and ecosystem services across United States cities

Riley, Christopher B ; Gardiner, Mary M Nedkov, Stoyan

PloS one, 2020-02, Vol.15 (2), p.e0228499 [Peer Reviewed Journal]

United States: Public Library of Science

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Title:
Examining the distributional equity of urban tree canopy cover and ecosystem services across United States cities
Author: Riley, Christopher B ; Gardiner, Mary M
Nedkov, Stoyan
Subjects: Analysis ; Biology and Life Sciences ; Canopies ; Carbon sequestration ; Cities ; Cities - epidemiology ; Cities and towns ; City Planning - methods ; City Planning - organization & administration ; City Planning - standards ; City Planning - statistics & numerical data ; College students ; Comparative analysis ; Conservation of Natural Resources - methods ; Conservation of Natural Resources - statistics & numerical data ; Datasets ; Ecology ; Ecology and Environmental Sciences ; Ecosystem ; Ecosystem services ; Ecosystems ; Entomology ; Environmental equity ; Environmental justice ; Environmental literature ; Estimates ; Expected values ; Forest ecosystems ; Forests ; Health Equity - standards ; Health Equity - statistics & numerical data ; High schools ; Humans ; Interdisciplinary aspects ; Justice ; Population Density ; Poverty ; Proxy ; Regression analysis ; Retirement benefits ; Scientists ; Social factors ; Social Justice - standards ; Social Justice - statistics & numerical data ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Socioeconomics ; Sustainability ; Sustainable development ; Tenants ; Trees - physiology ; United States - epidemiology ; Urban areas ; Variables
Is Part Of: PloS one, 2020-02, Vol.15 (2), p.e0228499
Notes: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Description: Examining the distributional equity of urban tree canopy cover (UTCC) has increasingly become an important interdisciplinary focus of ecologists and social scientists working within the field of environmental justice. However, while UTCC may serve as a useful proxy for the benefits provided by the urban forest, it is ultimately not a direct measure. In this study, we quantified the monetary value of multiple ecosystem services (ESD) provisioned by urban forests across nine U.S. cities. Next, we examined the distributional equity of UTCC and ESD using a number of commonly investigated socioeconomic variables. Based on trends in the literature, we predicted that UTCC and ESD would be positively associated with the variables median income and percent with an undergraduate degree and negatively associated with the variables percent minority, percent poverty, percent without a high school degree, percent renters, median year home built, and population density. We also predicted that there would be differences in the relationships between each response variable (UTCC and ESD) and the suite of socioeconomic predictor variables examined because of differences in how each response variable is derived. We utilized methods promoted within the environmental justice literature, including a multi-city comparative analysis, the incorporation of high-resolution social and environmental datasets, and the use of spatially explicit models. Patterns between the socioeconomic variables and UTCC and ESD did not consistently support our predictions, highlighting that inequities are generally not universal but rather context dependent. Our results also illustrated that although the variables UTCC and ESD had largely similar relationships with the predictor variables, differences did occur between them. Future distributional equity research should move beyond the use of proxies for environmental amenities when possible while making sure to consider that the use of ecosystem service estimates may result in different patterns with socioeconomic variables of interest. Based on our findings, we conclude that understanding and remedying the challenges associated with inequities requires an understanding of the local social-ecological system if larger sustainability goals are to be achieved.
Publisher: United States: Public Library of Science
Language: English

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Examining the distributional equity of urban tree canopy cover and ecosystem services across United States cities

Riley, Christopher B ; Gardiner, Mary M Nedkov, Stoyan

United States: Public Library of Science

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