Tacoma Tree Foundation's Anti-Racism Roots
Heat map of Tacoma: The darker the shade of pink, the hotter the neighborhood
At Tacoma Tree Foundation, addressing the impacts of environmental racism is one of our core principles. Tacoma is one of many cities across the US where one of the most visible markers of environmental racism, stemming from decades of racist housing and development policies, is a lack of tree canopy coverage in historically low-income, minority neighborhoods. There are many negative impacts as a result of these racist policies, ranging from lower home values, increased police presence, under-resourced schools, and a tendency for these neighborhoods to be torn down to build freeways or strip malls in the name of urban renewal.
However, we take on planting trees because it is a tangible way to improve health equity and health outcomes in our own backyards. Neighborhoods with low canopy coverage are significantly more at risk from extreme heat, along with on average having lower levels of air and water quality.
Almost all cities experience a degree of the heat-island effect, but neighborhoods with low canopy coverage suffer the most, sometimes registering temperatures up to 7-9 degrees hotter than surrounding areas. The neighborhoods with the highest heat island values almost always directly correlate with low-income, historically minority neighborhoods. This holds true in Tacoma as well.
Heat death incidences almost always follow this same pattern too. Those most vulnerable in our society are also the most vulnerable to death by heat, or have to spend a higher portion of their resources on staying cool. Meanwhile, wealthier neighborhoods with high canopy coverage have both decreased heat risk and increased resources with which to adapt.
Aerial survey map of Tacoma's canopy coverage. Green areas=canopy coverage
As climate change is expected to produce hotter and drier summers, it becomes even more important to equitably prepare our neighborhoods for these impacts. While planting trees adds beauty, they are also amazing machines for equity and health--which is really why we do what we do. We plant trees to create better communities for all our neighbors, with a special eye towards all those who come after us, who will be most impacted by climate change.
In the meantime, we invite you to help hold us accountable to our mission of anti-racist environmental work. We invite you to call us out when we aren’t being as proactive in our work as our mission holds us to be. We also invite you to stand alongside us in the work of undoing environmental racism, and in planting greener, more just, and healthier neighborhoods.
From, the Tacoma Tree Foundation team