Toronto is the first municipality in Canada to adopt a tree equity approach, which prioritizes the growth of canopy cover at the neighborhood level. This approach will help the City address the unequal distribution of the urban forest across communities and help us to achieve the City’s goal of 40 per cent canopy cover.
The Tree Equity Score Analyzer (TESA) is free online tool, developed for Toronto, allowing the public to access and analyze tree equity scores for different neighborhoods. The creation of TESA involved collaboration between the City of Toronto, American Forests, Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests (LEAF), and various local stakeholders from government, environmental, and public health sectors.
TESA utilizes land cover data along with demographic and socio-economic data to identify opportunities for canopy expansion at the neighborhood level. The online tool will facilitate citizen engagement by allowing people to develop scenarios for strategic tree planting in their neighborhoods.
For more information about tree equity in Toronto please, visit the Tree Equity section on the City's website.
To explore Toronto’s Tree Equity Score Analyzer: TESA (treeequityscore.org)