Urban tree canopy has greater cooling effects in socially vulnerable communities in the US
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Cities are home to around half of the global population but face intensified and unevenly distributed heat stresses. Trees are utilized to adapt to urban heat; however, most tree planting is prioritized by either biophysical or social metrics, rather than an integration of the two. It therefore remains unclear how to maximize ecological and social benefits of tree planting in the context of environmental justice. Here, we analyze social vulnerability to heat and the cooling capacity of trees across 38 of the largest cities in the United States. We find that socially vulnerable people tend to live in hotter neighborhoods with less tree canopy. Furthermore, tree planting in such neighborhoods can achieve greater cooling benefits per unit increase in canopy. Increasing tree cover in these neighborhoods will meet the greatest need for cooling and achieve greater cooling capacity, creating social and ecological co-benefits. Adaptation measures must address both the distributional injustices of urban heat and procedural justice in planning and managing nature-based cooling approaches.
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Historical injustices remain pervasive in the United States with cities marked by large inequalities in access to green amenities, with a major concern about gentrification from "green" redevelopment.
“Historical injustices remain pervasive in the United States with cities marked by large inequalities in access to green amenities (113, 114), with a major concern about gentrification from “green” redevelopment (115).”
From Global synthesis and regional insights for mainstreaming urban nature-based solutions (2025) · cites this paper as [114]
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“Studies of urban areas across the US show that tree canopy is also unevenly distributed with low-income areas having significantly lower tree cover than high-income areas, and that these associations are correlated with housing segregation (Locke et al., 2021; Zhou et al., 2021) and differential heat exposure (McDonal…”
BackgroundSelf-citationAir pollution interventions for health
Ji, J. S., Dominici, F., Gouveia, N., Kelly, F. J., & Neira, M. (2025) · Nature Medicine · doi:10.1038/s41591-025-03929-8 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Inequality in heat: The role of spatial patterns of urban green infrastructure
Chen, P. (2024) · Urban Climate · doi:10.1016/j.uclim.2024.101820 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Frantzeskaki, N., Wijsman, K., Kabisch, N., & McPhearson, T. (2025) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2315911121 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“Many NBS justice studies focus on the distributional justice effects of NBS, mapping how different NBS features such as tree plantings or bioswales are sited over space and social groups ( 45 – 47 ).”
Self-citationFrancis, J., Disney, M. I., & Law, S. (2023) · Urban forestry & urban greening · doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2023.128115 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Cui, Y., Guo, B., Li, W., & Kong, X. (2023) · Environmental Science and Pollution Research · doi:10.1007/s11356-023-30892-z · Cited by 29 · see citing works
“Several studies have supported that water bodies have a relatively more effective cooling process compared to green spaces, attributed to their better evaporation abilities (Gunawardena et al. 2017; Zhou et al. 2021a).”
Locke, D. H., Baker, M. E., Alonzo, M., Yang, Y., Ziter, C. D., Murphy-Dunning, C., & O’Neil-Dunne, J. P. M. (2024) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25041 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“Although spatial patterns of inter-and intra-urban surface temperature and inequity are well documented [19, 20], less is known about spatio-temporal variability in air temperatures as they relate to urban land cover.”
BackgroundIndividual structure mapping over six million trees for New York City USA
Ma, Q., Lin, J., Ju, Y., Li, W., Lu, L., & Guo, Q. (2023) · Scientific Data · doi:10.1038/s41597-023-02000-w · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“The potential applications of this dataset include but are not limited to (1) analysing spatial patterns of urban trees over different land cover and land use types and across census blocks, and to identify the inequity in urban green accessibility; (2) modelling the urban cooling effects under diverse 3D arrangements…”
BackgroundUrban expansion weakens the contribution of local land cover to urban warming
Cao, J., Zhou, W., Yu, W., Hu, X., Yu, M., Wang, J., & Wang, J. (2022) · Urban Climate · doi:10.1016/j.uclim.2022.101285 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Self-citationJiang, Z., Li, Y., Wu, H., Shariff, A. R. M., Zhou, H. Q., & Fan, K. (2024) · Ecological Indicators · doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112936 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Dai, Y., Zhang, J., Fu, S., Chen, W., Zhang, Y., & Yi, K. (2025) · Sustainable Cities and Society · doi:10.1016/j.scs.2025.106278 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
More urban greenspace, lower temperature? Moving beyond net change in greenspace
Wang, J., & Zhou, W. (2022) · Agricultural and Forest Meteorology · doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2022.109021 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Self-citationLi, H., Zhou, W., Wang, W., & Zheng, Z. (2022) · Ecological Indicators · doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109666 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Self-citationNanayakkara, N. W. S., Wang, W., Cao, J., Wang, J., & Zhou, W. (2023) · Atmosphere · doi:10.3390/atmos14050839 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Self-citationYang, X., Li, B., Li, N., & Ma, X. (2025) · Theoretical and Applied Climatology · doi:10.1007/s00704-025-05904-2 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“Vulnerable populations had low tree cover; augmenting this cover could synergistically improve ecological and socioeconomic benefits while fostering equitable greening techniques grounded in natural solutions (Zhou et al. 2021 ).”
Frequent heatwaves limit the indirect growth effect of urban vegetation in China
Gao, S., Chen, Y., Li, K., He, B., Hou, P., & Guo, Z. X. (2023) · Sustainable Cities and Society · doi:10.1016/j.scs.2023.104662 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Historical Urban Tree Canopy Cover Change in Two Post-Industrial Cities
Healy, M., Rogan, J. S., Roman, L. A., Nix, S. A., Martin, D. G., & Geron, N. (2022) · Environmental Management · doi:10.1007/s00267-022-01614-x · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“…variables: Schwarz et al. (2015) found a positive correlation between UTC cover and median household income across several US cities, while Zhou et al. (2021) found that across 38 US cities, people who are lower income, have low educational attainment, and are a minority live in hotter…”
BackgroundWu, S., Song, Y., An, J., Lin, C., & Чэн, Б. (2024) · Scientific Data · doi:10.1038/s41597-024-03746-7 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“In local contexts, access to greenspace is disproportionately lower for communities characterized by lower income, less education, and higher percentage of people of color 29–32 .”
BackgroundPrevalent underestimation of tree cooling efficiency attributed to urban intrinsic heterogeneity
Leng, S., Sun, R., Yan, M., & Chen, L. (2024) · Sustainable Cities and Society · doi:10.1016/j.scs.2024.105277 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Ten questions concerning older people and a sustainable built environment
van Hoof, J., Soebarto, V. I., Ayalon, L., Marston, H. R., Zander, K. K., Dikken, J., & Kazak, J. K. (2025) · Building and Environment · doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2025.112742 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
“Trees provide shade, and together with other types of greenery in the neighbourhood and around the house, they help cool the outdoor air, which is particularly important during the summer, which consequently can also reduce the need for air-conditioning at home [95,96].”
Yin, H., Xiang, Y., Chen, Z., Zhang, W., & Ao, Y. (2025) · Sustainable Cities and Society · doi:10.1016/j.scs.2025.106965 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Fraction-dependent variations in cooling efficiency of urban trees across global cities
Zhan, W., Wang, C., Wang, S., Li, L., Ji, Y., Du, H., Huang, F., Jiang, S., Liu, Z., & Fu, H. (2024) · ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing · doi:10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2024.07.026 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Urban Trees and Perceived Neighborhood Safety: Neighborhood Upkeep Matters
Lee, S., Kim, Y., & Koo, B. W. (2024) · Environment and Behavior · doi:10.1177/00139165241286820 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“This aligns with the broader advantages of increased tree canopy cover for marginalized populations and communities, showing that tree canopy serves not only to enhance the environment overall but also to offer cooling effects specifically beneficial in socially vulnerable areas (Zhou et al., 2021).”
Interannual variability and spatial diversification of global urban tree cooling effects
Leng, S., Sun, R., Yan, M., He, H., & Chen, L. (2024) · Environment International · doi:10.1016/j.envint.2024.109044 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Chen, H., Liu, R., Wang, Y., & Peng, Z. (2024) · Building and Environment · doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2024.112394 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Dean, D., Garber, M. D., Anderson, G. B., & Rueda, D. R. (2023) · Environmental Research · doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.117610 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Forging just ecologies: 25 years of urban long-term ecological research collaboration
Grove, J. M., Pickett, S. T. A., Boone, C. G., Buckley, G. L., Anderson, P., Hoover, F.-A., Lugo, A. E., Meléndez‐Ackerman, E., Muñoz‐Erickson, T. A., Nagendra, H., et al. (2024) · AMBIO · doi:10.1007/s13280-023-01938-w · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“While Zhou et al. (2021) demonstrate that planting trees for cooling purposes in socially vulnerable neighborhoods is a social–ecological ‘‘win–win,’’ Battaglia et al. (2014) explain why residents in East Baltimore have long resisted such efforts, citing a variety of perceived disservices…”
Self-citationWang, J., Zhou, W., & McPhearson, T. (2025) · npj Urban Sustainability · doi:10.1038/s42949-025-00223-x · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Self-citationTreglia, M. L., Piland, N. C., Leu, K., Slooten, A. V., & Maxwell, E. N. (2022) · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · doi:10.3389/frsc.2022.944823 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“Nonetheless, benefits from an expanded urban forest can have the greatest positive impact in neighborhoods with socially vulnerable residents (Zhou et al., 2021).”
BackgroundRecent Widespread Deceleration of Global Surface Urban Heat Islands Unveiled by Satellites
Zhan, W., Li, L., Chakraborty, T., Hu, L., Wang, D., Liao, W., Wang, S., Du, H., Huang, F., Wang, C., et al. (2025) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/2024gl112711 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Assessment of Urban Heat Islands and Land Cover Types in Relation to Vulnerable Populations
Suen, I.-S. (2022) · Earth · doi:10.3390/earth3020041 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Iqbal, L. M., Njaim, G. A., Vos, D., & Permana, C. T. H. (2025) · Urban forestry & urban greening · doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128797 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Moderating AC Usage Can Reduce Thermal Disparity between Indoor and Outdoor Environments
Wei, H., Чэн, Б., Huang, K., Gao, M. C., Fan, B., Zhang, T., Tu, Y., & Xu, B. (2024) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.4c00424 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Jato‐Espino, D., Lierow, S., & Rodríguez, M. Á. (2025) · Building and Environment · doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2025.112572 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Residential heat environment in relation to blue-green space sustainability in Beijing, China
Li, X., Jia, B., Wang, Z., Li, T., & Feng, F. (2024) · Urban forestry & urban greening · doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2024.128577 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Zeng, W., Yang, K., Zhang, S., Bi, C., Liu, J., Yang, X., Rao, Y., & Ma, Y. (2025) · Land · doi:10.3390/land14030645 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Justice for Resilient Development in Climate-Stressed Cities
Reckien, D., Juhola, S. K., Haque, A. N., Khalil, H. A. E. E., Lemos, M. F., Lwasa, S., Niamir, L., Osorio, J. C., Visconti, C., SOLECKI, W. D., et al. (2025) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781009587105 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Socio‐Ecological Impacts of the Investment of Urban Nature in Heat Mitigation for Two Megacities
Wang, J., Zhou, W., McPhearson, T., Cook, E. M., Cantis, P. H., & Liu, J. (2025) · Earth s Future · doi:10.1029/2025ef005976 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“For example, there is evidence that socially vulnerable populations are frequently concentrated in marginalized neighborhoods having less greenspace (Nesbitt et al., 2019; Schwarz et al., 2015; Zhou et al., 2021).”
InfluentialSelf-citationLiao, J., Dai, Y., Hang, J., Xu, Y., An, L., & Yuan, H. (2025) · Sustainable Cities and Society · doi:10.1016/j.scs.2025.106998 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Mitigating urban heat exposure inequity with a seasonally adaptive machine-learning approach
Wang, J., & Liu, Z. (2025) · Sustainable Cities and Society · doi:10.1016/j.scs.2025.107063 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Self-citationKropp, H. (2024) · Environmental Management · doi:10.1007/s00267-023-01934-6 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“Monitoring long-term changes in land cover can allow for the consideration of disproportionate changes in tree cover and support environmental justice focused tree planting initiatives (Zhou et al. 2021; Koo et al. 2023).”
Identifying priority heat-risk areas in Granada, Spain, using InVEST and landscape metrics
Silveira, C., Pistón, N., Martínez‐López, J., Alcaraz‐Segura, D., Postma, T., Torralbo, J. L., & Zamora, R. (2025) · Urban forestry & urban greening · doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128794 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Urban–rural gradients in cooling efficiency trends of tree covers across global cities
Wang, C., Li, K., Zhan, W., Li, L., Wang, C., Wang, S., Jiang, S., Ge, S., & Liu, Z. (2025) · ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing · doi:10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2025.11.035 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Resilience of racialized segregation is an ecological factor: Baltimore case study
Pickett, S. T. A., Grove, J. M., Boone, C. G., & Buckley, G. L. (2023) · Buildings and Cities · doi:10.5334/bc.317 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“…2017) • lack of managed green spaces or ‘nature deficit’ (Boone et al. 2009a, 2009b; Wolch et al. 2005) • elevated heat stress; lack of cooling trees (Zhou et al. 2021) • air pollution, fine particulates, and organic carcinogens (Rocha et al. 2017) • soil pollution by heavy metals (Zhuo et…”
Self-citationDawazhaxi, Zhou, W., & Cao, J. (2022) · Sustainable Cities and Society · doi:10.1016/j.scs.2022.104217 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-citationSmartphone location data show park use patterns in extreme heat (Los Angeles, California, USA)
Woo, B., Fruman, S., Escobar, R., Gallegos, A., Kim, J., Salomon, J., Sonobe, D., Van, J., Derakhshan, S., & Longcore, T. (2025) · Landscape and Urban Planning · doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105499 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Qi, R., Zhou, X., Li, Z., Yongzhong, Y., Yuan, Z., Liu, F., Shao, Y., Wei, D., & Chen, Y. (2024) · Diversity · doi:10.3390/d16010053 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Virginia Heat Watch: Collaboration to assess climate vulnerability at local to regional scales
Lookingbill, T. R., Warren, K. P., Haley, J. C., Malcolm, E. G., Powell, L. J., Starr, S. M., Witiak, S. M., Wolyniak, M. J., & Zizzamia, B. (2024) · Urban Climate · doi:10.1016/j.uclim.2024.102252 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Han, R. L., Marchant, R., & Thorn, J. (2025) · Urban Climate · doi:10.1016/j.uclim.2025.102467 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Mu, T., Zhao, R., Li, H., Lei, Y., Chen, Q., Tian, G., Zhang, Y., & Mu, B. (2025) · Sustainable Cities and Society · doi:10.1016/j.scs.2025.106595 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Quasi-experimental evidence that the urban tree canopy reduces residential energy consumption
Ravazdezh, F., & Rivers, N. J. (2025) · Energy and Buildings · doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.115992 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Temperature Rise Amplifies Environmental Inequities? Europe’s North-South Divide
Mashhoodi, B. (2023) · Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy · doi:10.1007/s12061-023-09555-6 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“…the inequality of exposure to LST. Studying the 38 largest U.S. cities, Zhou et al. found that high-income and high-educated citizens benefit more and immigrants benefit less from the cooling effect of threes – i.e. the coefficient of trees surfaces regressed against LST (Zhou et al., 2021).”
Elassal, D. A., & Jabareen, Y. R. (2025) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su17104614 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Dong, Y., Wang, J., & Sargai (2025) · Urban Climate · doi:10.1016/j.uclim.2025.102653 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Self-citationLee, Y., Jegal, S., Lee, S., Son, B., & Im, J. (2025) · 대한원격탐사학회지 · doi:10.7780/kjrs.2025.41.5.11 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Socio-demographic disparities of heat exposure in affluent, aging, and diverse Swiss society
Chang, Y., Manoli, G., Ghazoul, J., & Kleinschroth, F. (2025) · Sustainable Cities and Society · doi:10.1016/j.scs.2025.106813 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Gao, S., Chen, Y., Li, K., Chen, H. W., & He, B. (2026) · Sustainable Cities and Society · doi:10.1016/j.scs.2026.107249 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Wilson, B., Kashem, S. B., & Slonim, L. (2024) · Environment and Planning B Urban Analytics and City Science · doi:10.1177/23998083241226848 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“…between land surface temperature and urban tree canopy in a sample of 38 cities in the United States and found a negative relationship in all but one location and further concluded that canopy “ has a greater cooling effect in hotter neighborhoods with fewer trees ” (Zhou et al., 2021: 1767).”
Li, X., Li, X., Guldmann, J., Cai, Z., Liao, W. Y., Yang, C., & Qiu, Q. (2024) · Urban forestry & urban greening · doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2024.128462 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Trees’ cooling amplified the effect of air purification in Shanxi
Yu, X., Cheng, X., Dong, J., Yang, Z., Xu, D., & Peng, J. (2025) · Applied Geography · doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2025.103569 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Zhang, P., Liu, L., Yu, L., He, C., Chu, L., Li, Y., & Zhang, T. (2024) · International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology · doi:10.1007/s13762-024-06094-6 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Therefore, it is imperative to increase green space in disadvantaged communities, considering both ecological and social benefits (Zhou et al. 2021).”
Chapter 26 : Southern Great Plains. Fifth National Climate Assessment
McPherson, R. A., Fay, P. A., Alvarez, S. G., Bertrand, D., Broadbent, T. L., Bruno, T., Fares, A., McCullough, B., Moore, G. W., Moorhead, B. B., et al. (2023) · doi:10.7930/nca5.2023.ch26 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
An approach to prioritize urban tree planting to mitigate heat and advance equity in New Haven
Chen, S., Shives, E., Lund, K., Murphy-Dunning, C., & Seto, K. C. (2025) · Urban forestry & urban greening · doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2025.129039 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
- Authors
- Zhou, W., Huang, G., Pickett, S. T. A., Wang, J., Cadenasso, M. L., McPhearson, T., Grove, J. M., & Wang, J.
- Affiliations
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Beijing Normal University (CN)
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies (US)
- University of California, Davis (US)
- The New School (US)
- US Forest Service (US)
- Corresponding author
- Huang, Ganlin
- ORCID
- Venue
- One Earth
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-12
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1764-1775
- ISSN
- 2590-3322 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4200100473
- Cited by
- 152
- References
- 70
- Citations by year
- 2026: 29 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 18
- FWCI
- 5.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- One Earth (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Urban Heat Island Mitigation
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Environmental Justice and Health Disparities
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Urban Arborization and Environmental Studies
- Keywords
- urban tree canopy, urban heat, social vulnerability, environmental justice, tree planting, cooling capacity, heat stress, nature-based solutions, urban heat adaptation
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