Tree Equity

Tree Equity Score: The Tree Equity Score is designed to highlight which neighborhoods need more trees the most, and is determined by the combination of environmental and social measures. The score is made up of two parts, the first compares existing tree coverage compared to the tree coverage goal for the neighborhood. The second part of the Tree Equity Score calculates the priority for each neighborhood using race, income, employment, age, heat island severity, and health. These parts are combined to create a single number that ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 being the most equitable for tree coverage. You can learn more at https://treeequityscore.org/. 

Home Owner Loan Corporation (HOLC) Score : In the 1930's the Home Owner Loan Corporation created maps of US cities showing the perceived level of risk for home loans. Neighborhoods were given color coded grades: A (best, green), B (still desirable, blue), C (declining, yellow), or D (hazardous, red). Neighborhoods home to people of color, immigrants, and other minority groups were often assigned D (hazardous, red), while affluent, majority white neighborhoods were assigned A (best, green) or B (still desirable, blue). Banks used these grades to deny people of color and other minority populations from accessing home loans based on where they lived, effectively preventing investment in these neighborhoods. This practice has become known as redlining (due to neighborhoods of color being red on the maps) and is considered an element of structural racism. Redlining was made illegal in 1968, but effects of the lack of investment is still present in communities of color today. You can learn more about redlining at https://ncrc.org/holc/.