Dataset Description
The Tree Canopy dataset tracks projected tree canopy coverage (in acres) across New York City's neighborhood tabulation areas (NTAs) from a 2021 baseline through 2055, serving as the foundation for the Planned Action Scenario within the city's Climate Budgeting framework. It quantifies how canopy coverage is expected to expand at the neighborhood level under a scenario in which tree canopy is actively maintained by private and public landowners and expanded through the NYC Parks Department's Neighborhood Tree Planting Program.
The dataset contains one row per NTA, identified by a 2020 NTA code, name, and abbreviation, with projected canopy coverage percentages for five time points: 2021, 2030, 2040, 2050, and 2055. These projections are derived from the Neighborhood Tree Planting Program plans, and Land Cover raster data from the city's Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) assessments. Canopy coverage projections should only be compared against the 2021 baseline established within this framework, and not against other climate or land cover models, as those hold separate methodological assumptions this evaluation does not account for.