Socioeconomic Factors and Urban Tree Cover Policies in a Subtropical Urban Forest

Cities are increasingly promoting policies that increase and conserve urban forests based largely on biophysical and land use-cover metrics. This study demonstrates how socioeconomic factors need to be considered in geospatial analyses when formulating urban greening policies. Using remote sensing, geographical information systems, spatial field and census data, and policy analyses, we analyzed the effectiveness of urban forest cover policies that included socioeconomic factors when quantifying urban forest cover. We found that urban forest cover was heterogeneous across the study area and non-white residents younger than 19 and greater than 45 years old living in rentals were more likely to reside in areas with less urban forest cover than any other age cohort. Our analyses also indicated that urban forest cover was temporally variable and demographic factors unique to Miami-Dade County bring to light the complexity of establishing homogenous, county-wide "tree canopy" and urban greening policy goals. We present a localized socioeconomic and ecologically based geospatial approach for formulating urban forest cover goals.

[1]  Ying Zhang,et al.  Landsat urban mapping based on a combined spectral-spatial methodology , 2004, IGARSS 2004. 2004 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium.

[2]  G. D. Jenerette,et al.  Regional relationships between surface temperature, vegetation, and human settlement in a rapidly urbanizing ecosystem , 2007, Landscape Ecology.

[3]  A. Gitelson,et al.  Using AVHRR data for quantitive estimation of vegetation conditions: Calibration and validation , 1998 .

[4]  Francisco J. Escobedo,et al.  A framework for developing urban forest ecosystem services and goods indicators , 2011 .

[5]  David P. Miller,et al.  Status of atmospheric correction using a MODTRAN4-based algorithm , 2000, SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing.

[6]  F. Escobedo,et al.  Environmental Justice Implications of Urban Tree Cover in Miami-Dade County, Florida , 2011 .

[7]  P. S. Chavez,et al.  Automatic detection of vegetation changes in the southwestern United States using remotely sensed images , 1994 .

[8]  Robert G Burnight,et al.  POPULATION CHANGE AND DISTRIBUTION. , 1960 .

[9]  M. Bauer,et al.  Land cover classification and change analysis of the Twin Cities (Minnesota) Metropolitan Area by multitemporal Landsat remote sensing , 2005 .

[10]  Nik Heynen,et al.  The Political Ecology of Uneven Urban Green Space , 2006 .

[11]  Johan E. S. Fransson,et al.  Estimation of forest stem volume using multispectral optical satellite and tree height data in combination , 2005 .

[12]  C. Pita,et al.  Socioeconomics and Management , 2014 .

[13]  C. Small.  Multitemporal analysis of urban reflectance , 2002 .

[14]  K. Ihlanfeldt,et al.  Black Self-Segregation as a Cause of Housing Segregation: Evidence from the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality , 2002 .

[15]  W. Clark,et al.  Residential preferences and neighborhood racial segregation: A test of the schelling segregation model , 1991, Demography.

[16]  Craig A. Coburn,et al.  A multiscale texture analysis procedure for improved forest stand classification , 2004 .

[17]  J. Morgan Grove,et al.  A social ecology approach and applications of urban ecosystem and landscape analyses: a case study of Baltimore, Maryland , 1997, Urban Ecosystems.

[18]  T. Conway,et al.  Variations in municipal urban forestry policies: A case study of Toronto, Canada , 2007 .

[19]  N. Heynen,et al.  Urban forest and environmental inequality in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , 2002, Urban Ecosystems.

[20]  George Xian,et al.  Assessments of urban growth in the Tampa Bay watershed using remote sensing data , 2005 .

[21]  Christina L. Staudhammer,et al.  Patterns of Urban Forest Debris from the 2004 and 2005 Florida Hurricane Seasons , 2009 .

[22]  Kevin J. Gaston,et al.  City-wide relationships between green spaces, urban land use and topography , 2008, Urban Ecosystems.

[23]  F. Escobedo,et al.  The socioeconomics and management of Santiago de Chile's public urban forests , 2006 .

[24]  M. Duggin,et al.  A temporal analysis of urban forest carbon storage using remote sensing , 2006 .

[25]  Louis R. Iverson,et al.  Urban forest cover of the Chicago region and its relation to household density and income , 2000, Urban Ecosystems.

[26]  Ramanathan Sugumaran,et al.  The use of high-resolution imagery for identification of urban climax forest species using traditional and rule-based classification approach , 2003, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[27]  Christina L. Staudhammer,et al.  Hurricane Debris and Damage Assessment for Florida Urban Forests , 2009, Arboriculture & Urban Forestry.

[28]  Ramon C. Littell,et al.  Hurricanes and the Urban Forest: II. Effects on Tropical and Subtropical Tree Species , 2007 .

[29]  N. Grimm,et al.  Global Change and the Ecology of Cities , 2008, Science.

[30]  Mary Ann Fajvan,et al.  A Comparison of Multispectral and Multitemporal Information in High Spatial Resolution Imagery for Classification of Individual Tree Species in a Temperate Hardwood Forest , 2001 .

[31]  R. G. Davies,et al.  Urban form, biodiversity potential and ecosystem services , 2007 .

[32]  Greg Lindsey,et al.  Correlates of Urban Forest Canopy Cover , 2003 .

[33]  Kiichiro Kumagai,et al.  Verification of the analysis method for extracting the spatial continuity of the vegetation distribution on a regional scale , 2011, Comput. Environ. Urban Syst..

[34]  F. Willits,et al.  URBAN PARK AND FOREST PARTICIPATION AND LANDSCAPE PREFERENCE : A REVIEW OF THE RELEVANT LITERATURE By , 2005 .

[35]  D. Dillman,et al.  How Urban Residents Rate and Rank the Benefits and Problems Associated with Trees in Cities , 2004, Arboriculture & Urban Forestry.

[36]  W. Cohen,et al.  An evaluation of alternate remote sensing products for forest inventory, monitoring, and mapping of Douglas-fir forests in western Oregon , 2001 .

[37]  F. Escobedo,et al.  Spatial patterns of a subtropical, coastal urban forest: implications for land tenure, hurricanes, and invasives. , 2010 .

[38]  David Chaffey,et al.  Urban Social Geography: An Introduction , 1982 .

[39]  Albin Andersson,et al.  Greenhouse gas reduction , 2005 .

[40]  B. Forster.  An examination of some problems and solutions in monitoring urban areas from satellite platforms , 1985 .

[41]  J. Maantay,et al.  Mapping environmental injustices: pitfalls and potential of geographic information systems in assessing environmental health and equity. , 2002, Environmental health perspectives.

[42]  C. Tucker.  Red and photographic infrared linear combinations for monitoring vegetation , 1979 .

[43]  P. Curran.  Multispectral remote sensing of vegetation amount , 1980 .