Disproportionalities in the urban forest: Analyzing the role of stewardship agencies in dictating the distribution of an urban environmental resource

Environmental stewardship in urban areas often involves multiple organizations and actors. Yet very little data exists that takes into account the work of multiple stewardship organizations. And while recent work has presented various drivers of uneven canopy cover, the contribution of local stewardship organizations to those inequalities remains under-explored. Worcester, MA, however, offers an interesting opportunity to look at how unequitable canopies can be reproduced. In 2008, after the Asian Longhorned beetle was discovered in Worcester, Worcester County began a sustained eradication effort and destroyed over 34,000 trees in just six years. Multiple organizations took on the responsibility for restoring the canopy. In this paper, we analyze where the stewardship organizations planted new trees and the main drivers of planting in those locations. Specifically, we explore (1) if the restoration of the canopy was done in an equitable manner, and (2) what were the main predictors of where stewardship organizations worked. Our findings indicate that the inequity in the canopy was reproduced after the Longhorned beetle epidemic. More surprising is that in the spatial error regression model traditional drivers of inequities in the canopy become insignificant. The most significant predictor of where stewardship agencies worked is the presence of other agencies. We end with some recommendations for a more efficient, holistic stewardship environment.