How many trees do you have in your neighbourhood, and how does it compare to the rest of the city? Now it's easy to find out by using the Tree Equity Score Analyser for your area. This free mapping tool was developed to identify and prioritise neighbourhoods that lack trees.
In Toronto, like other Canadian, USA and British cities, it's Black and brown areas that have the least trees. White areas have the most. The tree equity score is an easy way to see and confirm this. The lower the score means the higher the need for tree-planting in an area.
The score is based on multiple factors. It includes canopy cover of existing trees, race, building density, health, income and employment, language, age, and surface temperature. In other words, it uses census information and maps these on the distribution of trees in the city.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I was invited to participate on the committee that tested the Tree Equity Score Analyser for the City of Toronto. I know little about the ecology of trees and can identify only about twenty. But I do now something about social nature scholarship, and how race shapes access to nature including access to trees. The tree equity score does not shy away from these discussions – unlike so much of the environmental and conservation sectors.
The tree equity score is easy to use. It is interactive and can be used to map the current tree cover, and to play around with different scenarios for increasing tree equity in a neighbourhood. The maps can be made detailed enough to identify the best places to plant trees on a city street or block.
I used the tree equity score to compare three areas in the same census tract. My Regent Park neighbourhood scored low. It has the highest level of racialised and poor people. The other two neighbourhoods of Cabbagetown and Rosedale are White and whiter. They are some of the richest hoods in the city and they had among the highest tree equity scores. No surprises here.
The tree equity scores confirm the links between race and who has access to nature and trees in the city. Now that the tree inequity is visible, I am curious to see how it will be used. Having the information is one thing. Using it to make change is an entirely different challenge.
My hunch is that White neighbourhoods will use the tree equity score to ensure that they get more trees, in the few areas where they are below parity. They will be able to do so as they have the resources and connections to advocate for or to buy trees. Black, brown and Indigenous neighbourhoods don't have the same level of economic or social power. Unless they receive targeted outreach and help with tree planting and maintenance, knowing the tree equity score will be of little use to them.
© Jacqueline L. Scott. You can support the blog here.
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