Geospatial Modeling of Urban Tree Cover Inequalities in Connecticut Cities

The goal of this study is to model the driving factors behind urban tree canopy cover disparities in West Hartford (WH), East Hartford (EH), and Hartford (HT), Connecticut.The first objective involved a statistical analysis using socioeconomic variables and the current percent tree canopy cover (PTCC) from 197 census blocks in WH, EH, and HT.The second objective entailed performing a geospatial analysis using 70-year time series aerial imagery (1952-2021) for two case-study census blocks in EH and WH.The results from the census block-level analysis of WH, EH, and HT revealed a negative correlation between the PTCC and ethnicity (R = -0.461),PTCC and income level (R = -0.435),PTCC and land surface temperature (R = -0.859),and PTCC and health burden (R = -0.371).Additionally, the aerial image analysis results between the two case-study sites revealed a significant difference in PTCC (p < 0.05) for all years considered.These findings support our hypothesis that past discriminatory practices, such as redlining, may have a legacy effect on present-day tree canopy cover.