The City of Austin has announced it will adopt the Tree Equity Score as its main tool for urban forestry planning, replacing the Community Tree Priority Map. This move is led by Austin Climate Action & Resilience’s Urban Forest Program and aims to improve equity in access to tree canopy across neighborhoods.
Trees play a significant role in Austin by cooling areas, improving air quality, supporting wildlife, and benefiting public health. However, not all communities have equal access to these benefits. The city says this new approach will help address those disparities.
“While the tool is changing, the mission is not. Austin remains firmly committed to expanding and sustaining the urban forest, using spatial analysis and data-driven approaches to guide tree planting, investment, and long-term planning. Equity remains at the core of this work,” according to the City’s announcement.
The Tree Equity Score is a nationally recognized framework that combines data on tree canopy cover with factors such as income, employment, health, and heat burden. It helps cities identify which neighborhoods need more investment in trees. The tool also makes its methodology and data available to the public and now includes a Spanish-language version.
By adopting this scorecard system, Austin aligns itself with national best practices for urban forestry management while making its process more transparent and accessible. The change allows city staff to focus more on implementing projects rather than maintaining datasets.
An example cited was East Riverside-Oltorf neighborhood’s Tree Equity Score of 66 and an 11% canopy cover—highlighting a need for increased planting there due to higher average temperatures compared to other parts of the city.
“Addressing this gap is vital to supporting this diverse community, particularly in mitigating heat disparity, which is over 10 degrees higher than the citywide average, and ensuring environmental benefits are accessible to all residents regardless of language or racial background,” said city officials.
The Tree Equity Score will inform activities such as tree distribution strategies and reviewing Urban Forest Grant applications. “As with any tool, it will not operate in isolation. Professional expertise, local knowledge, and community insight remain essential to decision-making. Data helps guide the conversation, but it does not replace lived experience or practitioner judgment,” stated the City.
This transition supports goals outlined in the Austin Climate Equity Plan: achieving at least 50% citywide tree canopy cover by 2050 with a focus on equitable distribution from project inception.
The update affects various partners including grant applicants, nonprofit groups, arborists, interns from Youth Forest Council programs, municipal collaborators, and Urban Forestry staff who previously used the Community Tree Priority Map.
Austin manages a budget of $5.9 billion according to official records and employs over 16,000 staff members to manage operations. The city promotes diversity and inclusion as core values and receives high ratings for its services. Its park system also maintains historic sites like Oakwood Cemetery and Zilker Botanical Garden within its parks network. Sustainable development remains central as part of efforts toward being one of America’s most livable cities as outlined online.
Technical FAQs about how Tree Equity Score will be applied locally are expected soon along with details about retiring the previous mapping tool. Residents are encouraged to explore their neighborhood scores at treeequityscore.org or contact thinktrees@austintexas.gov for questions.
