Tree canopy

Tree canopy is the layer of leaves, branches, and stems that covers the ground when you look down on a city from above. It is usually reported as the share of land shaded by trees. Where canopy is high, neighborhoods stay cooler, the air is cleaner, and rain is slowed before it floods streets.

Trees do real work. Their shade and the water they release can drop nearby temperatures by several degrees on a hot day, which lowers cooling bills and protects people from heat illness. Leaves also catch dust and pollution, and roots soak up stormwater.

Canopy is often spread unevenly. Lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color tend to have far fewer trees, so they bake hotter in summer. That gap is what people mean by "tree equity."

In Mecklenburg County this is literal: canopy covers roughly half the county (about 50% in 2023) but has been declining, and it is concentrated in the wealthier southeast "wedge" while the lower-income "crescent" has far less shade. More canopy is not automatically better in every spot (dense, walkable places may have less room for trees), but the local gap in who has shade is a clear equity concern.