Our ambition is to enable trees to form part of an urban landscape where their benefits are equally distributed, underpinned by a universal understanding of tree equity.
Go straight to the 10 step guide
Every community should have equitable access to the benefits of trees. This is the guiding principle behind tree equity. But the reality is that not everyone has good access to the social, economic and environmental benefits that trees provide. People in places with less tree canopy cover are more likely to be affected by things like flooding, air pollution and extreme heat.
Redressing the balance of tree cover could not only help reduce these impacts but can contribute to addressing social inequities in these places. The Tree Equity Score UK tool enables us to identify where these areas of inequity are and create positive change for the future with our ongoing urban forestry planning.
This tree equity toolbox is your guide to focussing the regeneration of urban forests in places where people need trees the most.
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Quick links to this page
What does tree inequity look like?
How can the Tree Equity Score help?
The time to start is now - your 10 step guide to increasing tree equity
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The average urban tree cover in the UK is around 17%. Not only is this substantially below the European average of 28%, but it’s inequitably distributed within urban areas.
Every town and city has highly variable tree coverage, from 30-40% in some leafy suburbs down to 3% in some urban tree deserts. There are also big regional differences between northern and southern England, with a lower urban tree canopy in the North.
There is a strong correlation between low tree canopy cover and areas of economic deprivation. On average the most affluent neighbourhoods in the UK have twice as much tree canopy cover as the least affluent neighbourhoods. The neighbourhoods with fewest trees are already disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change. They could also benefit most from tree establishment and long-term community involvement programmes.
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So what does all this mean for areas with low tree equity?
Although this systemic inequity is not new, the difference today is we have freely accessible targeted data-based tools that can put people’s needs at the centre of more equitable master plans.
“97.5% of all people of colour live in cities and are more likely to live in areas with less access to nature. They are less likely to have gardens, whilst experiencing higher levels of city stressors such as air pollution, noise pollution, and urban heat island effect. To achieve health equity it is essential that tree planting and proximity to trees is seen through the lens of racial and environmental justice.”
Beth Collier, founder and director of Wild in The City