- April 22, 2026, 3:30 pm US/Central
- Curia II
—–Original Appointment—–
From: Alyssa Rodway
Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2026 9:17 AM
To: Alyssa Rodway
Cc: sustainability
Subject: Earth Day Colloquium
When: Wednesday, April 22, 2026 3:30 PM-4:30 PM (UTC-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada).
Where: Curia II
Abstract:
Mapping Urban Forest Structure Across Five U.S. Cities
Urban forests provide critical ecosystem services, from stormwater runoff mitigation and heat island mitigation to biodiversity support and public health benefits, yet their structural composition varies enormously across and within cities. Understanding this variation is essential for evidence-based urban forest management.
This study applies a multi-scale principal components analysis (PCA) framework to census-tract-level urban forest inventory data across five U.S. cities: Washington DC, New York City, Columbus (OH), Minneapolis (MN), and Seattle (WA), representing a combined sample of 3,084 tracts. For each city, we analyze seven structural variables derived from standardized street tree inventories and remotely sensed canopy cover (NLCD Urban Tree Canopy, 2021): mean and standard deviation of diameter at breast height, proportion of trees in good condition, proportion of native species, tree density, canopy cover, and species richness.
Preliminary global PCA results suggests that canopy extent and tree diversity represent a shared dimension of urban forest quality. Marked structural differences across cities further indicate that no single management benchmark is universally applicable. Spatially constrained PCA (sPCA) and geographically weighted PCA (GWPCA) (in progress) will characterize the degree to which these structural gradients are spatially clustered and identify neighborhoods where local forest composition diverges from citywide patterns.
Findings will inform targeted urban reforestation priorities and support planners in identifying underserved areas where strategic investment.
Bio
Tatjana Washington is a PhD candidate in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago, where her research examines the spatial distribution of urban tree biodiversity and its implications for ecosystem services and green infrastructure planning. Drawing on novel methodological approaches adapted from human genetics and spatial epidemiology, her work characterizes urban forest structure across major U.S. cities. Tatjana is particularly interested in how urban biodiversity patterns shape the conditions under which humans and wildlife coexist in cities.