Born and raised New York City resident here, hailing from Brooklyn- I’ve always noticed this truism, but it’s been voiced aloud often as of late: in Brooklyn (at least), the amount of tree coverage is shorthand for how “good” or “desirable” a neighborhood is. Why?

I put these descriptors is quotes because NYC is quite residentially segregated and these terms are often conflated with racial dynamics that are tough to pin down. I’d like to shelve this aspect, unless relevant for the discussion (no crime statistics right now, thanks). Perhaps we can use home value as a surrogate for “good.”

Having said all that, there has been talk about the uneven impacts of climate change; specifically increasingly intense heat waves, and how certain sectors of urban areas will be affected. I haven’t drilled down into the why behind these theories, but my intuition tells me that this is related to green space. Of course Manhattan, high rise living and such cuts against this, but I think there’s still something there.

Does anyone know anything about this? Can someone share resources about what we know about this dynamic? Did I imagine all of this? (Can’t be, it came up on Chris Hayes’s podcast recently) Thank you all for your time!