❮ Projects page Esperanza

Spatial Analysis Project:

The neighborhood of Hunting Park is one of the hottest and most vulnerable in the City of Philadelphia. As a response, the Office of Sustainability, with the help of Hunting Park residents and stakeholders, published the Beat the Heat HP Plan in 2019. A major part of the plan is to increase tree canopy coverage in the area. In order to do so, we must understand Hunting Park’s current landscape and potential for tree plantings. For this project, we are interested in the use of existing data to help us understand:

1. Current tree canopy coverage at census block group level and street block level;
2. Potential for tree plantings through a land analysis including pervious versus impervious surfaces; and
3. Prioritization of tree plantings based on occupancy, heat vulnerability index, and community engagement at the census block group and street block level.

Data available:

From Open Data Philly:

• Philadelphia’s Urban Tree Canopy (UTC) assessment 2008-2018 (GIS)
• Philadelphia Dept of Records property parcels(GIS)
• Philadelphia Land Cover (GIS)
• Street centerlines (GIS)

From Philadelphia Parks & Recreation:

• Street tree inventory data

From Philadelphia Office of Sustainability:

• Heat vulnerability index
• Surface temperatures data

From Esperanza:

• NeighborCare data: blocks involved in the neighborhood plan.
• Addresses of residents who have received yard trees through the yard tree giveaway program.

From Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS):

• Recently planted Esperanza Tree Tenders street trees, with tree health/mortality data (GIS)

From Philadelphia Water Dept:

• Green stormwater infrastructure street projects (GIS)

Other Sources:

• 2014-2018 U.S. Census American Community Survey(ACS) - Economic, demographic and housing data (Rental Occupancy, Income)
• EPA’s EJSCREEN data can help explore the environmental, demographic and EJ (environmental justice) characteristics of a block group or buffer area. It provides environmental indicator data, such as the traffic proximity, air pollution, and proximity to waste and hazardous chemical sites.

Maps and Reports that will be created:

We are looking for a series of maps of Hunting Park that integrate the existing tree canopy cover and street tree inventory data with a prioritization for where we should focus our outreach for new plantings. This should include but not be limited to creating maps illustrating a baseline of current trees and canopy, analysis of the potential for tree plantings based on available land (e.g. impervious surfaces, high potential sidewalks), and illustration of the neighborhood’s hottest and highest priority areas. The analysis should further incorporate prioritization of street tree outreach, yard tree giveaway events, and strategies for tree planting and care based on different land uses (residential, commercial, industrial, etc).

How the maps and reports will be used:

This will be the basis for Philadelphia’s first neighborhood-level urban forestry planning effort, will serve as a pilot of the strategies identified under the Philadelphia Urban Forest Strategic Plan, currently in the planning process, and as a model for neighborhood-level analysis throughout Philadelphia. The maps and reports will be used to determine current tree canopy and land cover in Hunting Park; will help us determine the neighborhood’s tree planting capacity; and will guide our tree plantings and outreach based on feasibility (tree planting capacity on area blocks, home occupancy, etc.). Furthermore, the report and maps will allow us to scale up our current tree planting efforts and will aid with fundraising for this purpose.