Linking Urban Tree Cover Change and Local History in a Post-Industrial City

Lara A. Roman, Indigo J. Catton, Eric J. Greenfield, Hamil Pearsall, Theodore S. Eisenman and Jason G. Henning
Additional contact information
Lara A. Roman: Philadelphia Field Station, Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service 100 N. 20th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA
Indigo J. Catton: Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, 251 Hayden Hall, 240 S. 33rd St., Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Eric J. Greenfield: Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 5 Moon Library, SUNY-ESF, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
Hamil Pearsall: Geography and Urban Studies Department, Temple University, 308 Gladfelter Hall, 1115 W. Berks St., Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
Theodore S. Eisenman: Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, University of Massachusetts–Amherst, 551 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
Jason G. Henning: Philadelphia Field Station, Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service 100 N. 20th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 4, 1-30

Abstract: Municipal leaders are pursuing ambitious goals to increase urban tree canopy (UTC), but there is little understanding of the pace and socioecological drivers of UTC change. We analyzed land cover change in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States) from 1970–2010 to examine the impacts of post-industrial processes on UTC. We interpreted land cover classes using aerial imagery and assessed historical context using archival newspapers, agency reports, and local historical scholarship. There was a citywide UTC increase of +4.3 percentage points. Substantial UTC gains occurred in protected open spaces related to both purposeful planting and unintentional forest emergence due to lack of maintenance, with the latter phenomenon well-documented in other cities located in forested biomes. Compared to developed lands, UTC was more persistent in protected open spaces. Some neighborhoods experienced substantial UTC gains, including quasi-suburban areas and depopulated low-income communities; the latter also experienced decreasing building cover. We identified key processes that drove UTC increases, and which imposed legacies on current UTC patterns: urban renewal, urban greening initiatives, quasi-suburban developments, and (dis)investments in parks. Our study demonstrates the socioecological dynamism of intra-city land cover changes at multi-decadal time scales and the crucial role of local historical context in the interpretation of UTC change.

Keywords: aerial imagery; forest emergence; land cover change; land use change; legacy effect; tree planting; urban forest; urban ecosystem; urban park; urban shrinkage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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