Greening the Urban Landscape: Assessing the Impact of Tree-Planting Initiatives and Climate Influences on Miami-Dade County’s Greenness

In urban settings, trees and greenery play a vital role in environmental well-being and community vitality. This study explores the impact of Miami-Dade County’s tree-planting initiative on urban greenness and considers the influence of climate dynamics. Using Landsat data from 2006 to 2019, we find...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Remote sensing (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2024-01, Vol.16 (1), p.157
Main Authors: Dewald, Julius R., Southworth, Jane, Szapocznik, Jose, Lombard, Joanna L., Brown, Scott C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Artificial satellites in remote sensing
Census
Censuses
Chronic illnesses
Climate
climate variability
Decision making
Diabetes
Disease
Economic aspects
Green infrastructure
Health aspects
Health care
Human factors
Initiatives
Landsat
Methods
Miami-Dade County
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)
Planting
Precipitation
Remote sensing
Seasonal variations
spatial and seasonal analysis
Statistical analysis
Suburban areas
Sustainable living
Tree planting
Trees
Trends
Urban areas
Urban development
Urban environments
urban greenness
Urban planning
Vegetation
Vegetation cover
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Summary:In urban settings, trees and greenery play a vital role in environmental well-being and community vitality. This study explores the impact of Miami-Dade County’s tree-planting initiative on urban greenness and considers the influence of climate dynamics. Using Landsat data from 2006 to 2019, we find stable overall greenness, with 5.64% of the Census blocks exhibiting significant changes. Seasonal analysis reveals winter as prominent, with 61.47% of Census blocks showing increased greenness. Temperature and precipitation, especially post-2010, correlate with greenness changes. Despite a reported increase in tree cover from 14% to 20%, our findings show only 5–6% of Census blocks with statistically significant changes, highlighting the complexity of achieving substantial improvements in green canopy coverage. The study raises questions about the efficacy of large-scale tree-planting initiatives in densely urbanized areas when human factors are not well understood. Implications for urban planning stress the importance of preserving green spaces and informed decision-making for enhancing vegetation cover in Miami-Dade County, emphasizing the need to consider local conditions, seasonal variations, policies, and human factors in urban greening efforts.
ISSN:2072-4292
2072-4292
DOI:10.3390/rs16010157