Urban Forest Equity | UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation

The distribution of urban forests in California reveals that under-resourced cities and neighborhoods tend to have fewer trees due to discriminatory urban planning and investment decisions. Planting trees provides many human health and environmental benefits, including protection from extreme heat – one of the deadliest impacts of climate change. However, increasing the tree canopy in Los Angeles is challenging because of its extensive roadways, semi-arid climate, and diversity in income.

To help address this, UCLA LCI and the Los Angeles Urban Forest Equity Collective provide specific, practical solutions for community members, local groups, and municipal leaders to improve health outcomes. The following links offer a step-by-step, decision-making framework that centers equity in tree planting and presents public engagement strategies developed in partnership with community-based organizations, designed to give a voice to residents.

To stay up to date with the Los Angeles Urban Forest Equity Collective, click here.

For more information on UCLA LCI’s research, see our web pages on shade infrastructure planning and heat equity.

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Photo credit: City Plants

Los Angeles Urban Forest Equity: Assessment, Tools, and Recommendations (2024 main report)

Authors: Dana Hellman, Edith de Guzman, and Rachel O’Leary
Funders: Accelerate Resilience L.A. (Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors) and the U.S. Forest Service, via the L.A. Center for Urban Natural Resources Sustainability

By conducting a holistic analysis and creating strategies to advance urban forest equity in LA, the authors present methods to address decades of systemic disinvestment and planning decisions that have resulted in poor public health outcomes, limited access to green spaces, and a host of related consequences ranging from heat exposure and poor air quality to food insecurity and reduced ecosystem services.

Los Angeles Urban Forest Equity Neighborhood Strategy: Central Alameda (2024 report)

Authors: Robin Gilliam, Theresa Maysonet, Aaron Thomas, Joe Laskin, Jose G. Vargas, Scoot Cher, Rachel O’Leary, Edith de Guzman, et al.
Funders: Accelerate Resilience L.A. (Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors) and the U.S. Forest Service, via the L.A. Center for Urban Natural Resources Sustainability

This report is one of five documents developed by the Urban Forest Equity Collective. It is an overview of the Central Alameda pilot neighborhood assessment, engagement, and tree-planting implementation process.

Los Angeles Urban Forest Equity Neighborhood Strategy: Sylmar (2024 report)

Authors: Dana Hellman, Edith de Guzman, and Rachel O’Leary
Funders: Accelerate Resilience L.A. (Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors) and the U.S. Forest Service, via the L.A. Center for Urban Natural Resources Sustainability

This report is one of five documents developed by the Urban Forest Equity Collective. It is a hyperlocal implementation strategy for Sylmar to demonstrate how these urban forest equity tools can be used.

Greening the Divide (2024 forest equity design guidebook)

Authors: Krystal Yu and Rachel O’Leary
Funders: Accelerate Resilience L.A. (Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors) and the U.S. Forest Service, via the L.A. Center for Urban Natural Resources Sustainability

This guidebook is a practical guide to using a new method of classifying urban space considering levels of investment and benefits and tradeoffs of varied urban forest equity solutions.

Los Angeles Urban Forest Equity Community Action Toolkit (2024 toolkit)

Authors: Edith de Guzman, members of the L.A. Urban Forest Equity Collective, and Krystal Yu
Funders: Accelerate Resilience L.A. (Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors) and the U.S. Forest Service, via the L.A. Center for Urban Natural Resources Sustainability

This toolkit is a collection of resources ranging from sample fliers to community surveys that community leaders and advocates can use to mobilize residents to support urban forest equity.

The UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles basin and So. Channel Islands). As a land grant institution, we pay our respects to the Honuukvetam (Ancestors), ‘Ahiihirom (Elders) and ‘eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present and emerging.
Click on the linked words to hear the pronunciation for the Tongva-language words.
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