New Directions
This analysis has sparked continued discussion among
researchers and urban forestry professionals in Baltimore
City to better understand the relationship between the
city's street tree population and present-day demographics,
which may not always reflect HOLC grade boundaries.
In New York City, socially vulnerable neighborhoods are
more likely to have lower street tree abundance and diver-
sity, though these inequities are
diminishing over time.
Preliminary analysis of Baltimore City's street trees shows
similar trends, as well as negative correlations between
neighborhood temperature and street tree biodiversity.
In order to combat historical race-based inequity, the
Baltimore City Forestry Division has implemented pol-
icies that contribute to a more equitably distributed
urban canopy. The division plans large, targeted plant-
ings in different low-income neighborhoods each season.
The plantings are focused primarily along popular
walking routes to Baltimore City Public Schools. This is
coupled with a year-round proactive tree maintenance
program aimed at pruning and removing hazardous
trees in neighborhoods with relatively fewer service
requests. Replanting in these areas enables the City to
address gaps in the canopy that might otherwise go
unnoticed. The TreeBaltimore initiative also trains res-
idents through its stewardship program, TreeKeepers,
to engage with a nursery stock program where they can
access free and diverse trees for planting projects in
their own neighborhoods. By increasing awareness and
lowering barriers to these city resources, more trees of
greater diversity get planted where they are needed.
Continued investigation into past and present policy
drivers of street tree populations will help ensure that
future street tree communities and their benefits are
more equitably distributed across urban neighbor-
hoods. These results and future research are particularly
relevant to new investments at local, regional, and
national scales in historically underserved urban neigh-
borhoods, like
Maryland's Urban Trees Grant Program
and the nearly
$1.5 billion dollars in awards recently
announced by the USDA Forest Service Urban &
Community Forestry program. Monitoring and evaluating
the impact of these investments on biodiversity,
cas-
cading trophic structures,
and ecosystem benefits could
provide important insights into urban ecological systems
and the ability to promote healthy communities, urban
sustainability, and resilience to climate change.
Native tree species lined up for a TreeBaltimore giveaway event at Stillmeadow Community
Fellowship in southwest Baltimore. Credit: Baltimore City Department of Recreation & Parks
32 CityTREES
