2014 Urban Tree Canopy Study Here
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Assessing Urban Tree Cover in the City of Atlanta: Phase 2 (Detecting Canopy Change 2008-2014) Prepared by: Center for Spatial Planning Analytics and Visualization (formerly known as the Center for Geographic Information Systems or CGIS) 760 Spring St Atlanta, GA 30332-0695 Office: 404-894-0127 Georgia Institute of Technology Investigators: Anthony Giarrusso, Associate Director (CSPAV), [email protected] Sponsor: City of Atlanta in the City of Atlanta 1 Acknowledgements Project Team: Principal Investigator: Anthony J. Giarrusso, Associate Director, Senior Research Scientist Center for Spatial Planning Analytics and Visualization ( Georgia Institute of Technology 760 Spring Street, Suite 230 Atlanta, GA 30308 Office: 404-894-0127 [email protected] Graduate Research Assistant Jeremy Nichols Center for Spatial Planning Analytics and Visualization Georgia Institute of Technology 760 Spring Street, Suite 230 Atlanta, GA 30308 The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the City of Atlanta. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. The project team would like to acknowledge and thank the following individuals for their assistance on this project. Kathryn A. Evans, Senior Administrative Analyst, Tree Conservation Commission, Department of Planning and Development, Arborist Division Assessing Urban Tree Cover in the City of Atlanta The 2014 Canopy Study 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................... 3 List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................. 5 List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 8 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 13 1.1 Benefits of Urban Trees..................................................................................................................... 13 1.2 History of the Project ......................................................................................................................... 13 1.3 Research Objectives ......................................................................................................................... 14 1.4 Report Organization .......................................................................................................................... 14 2. Project Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 15 2.1 Establishing the Workflow ................................................................................................................. 15 2.2 Imagery Capture and Preparation ..................................................................................................... 15 2.4 Imagery Classification and Post Processing ..................................................................................... 15 2.5 Accuracy Assessment ....................................................................................................................... 17 2.6 Calculating Tree and Land Cover Statistics ...................................................................................... 18 2.7 Calculating Change between 2008-2014: Tree and Land Cover Statistics ...................................... 18 3. Data Analysis and Findings for 2014 ...................................................................................................... 19 3.1 City-wide Tree and Land Cover Totals .............................................................................................. 19 3.2 Other Geographies ............................................................................................................................ 22 3.3 Watersheds ....................................................................................................................................... 23 3.3 Sub-Watersheds ................................................................................................................................ 24 3.4 Parks.................................................................................................................................................. 26 3.5 Zoning ................................................................................................................................................ 28 3.6 Neighborhood Planning Units (NPU) ................................................................................................. 31 3.7 Council Districts ................................................................................................................................. 33 3.8 Neighborhoods .................................................................................................................................. 34 4. Change Analysis – Comparing 2008 and 2014 Data .............................................................................. 37 4.1 Change Analysis Explained ............................................................................................................... 37 4.2 City-Wide Change ............................................................................................................................. 38 4.3 Areas Losing UTC ............................................................................................................................. 40 4.4 Areas Gaining UTC ........................................................................................................................... 43 4.5 Canopy Change – Selected Geographies ......................................................................................... 45 4.5 Canopy Change Highlights – Selected Geographies ........................................................................ 46 5. Discussion ............................................................................................................................................... 60 5.1 Discussion of Results ........................................................................................................................ 60 Assessing Urban Tree Cover in the City of Atlanta The 2014 Canopy Study 3 Table of Contents 5.2 Policy Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 67 5.3 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 67 6. Appendix 1 - Land Cover Maps by Selected Geographies ..................................................................... 69 6.1 Neighborhood Planning Units ............................................................................................................ 70 6.2 Neighborhoods .................................................................................................................................. 71 6.3 City Council Districts 6.4 Watersheds ............................................................................................... 72 6.5 Small Watersheds 6.6 Parks ............................................................................................................. 74 6.7 Zoning ................................................................................................................................................ 76 6.8 City Grid – (6 acre cells) .................................................................................................................... 77 7. Appendix 2 - Land Cover Graphs by Selected Geographies .................................................................. 78 7.1 Neighborhood Planning Units ............................................................................................................ 79 7.2 Neighborhoods .................................................................................................................................. 80 7.3 City Council Districts .......................................................................................................................... 81 7.4 Watersheds ....................................................................................................................................... 82 7.5 Small Watersheds ............................................................................................................................. 83 7.8 Parks.................................................................................................................................................. 84 7.9 Zoning ................................................................................................................................................ 85 8. Appendix 3 – Summary Land Cover Tables by Selected Geographies ................................................. 86 8.1 Neighborhood Planning Units ...........................................................................................................