Climate: Saving Old Trees Might Save Lives
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- Harrison C. Garcia of Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine led a study published in GeoHealth finding each year-to-year percent increase in tree canopy was associated with around a 10 percent reduction in neighborhood mortality.
- Researchers used satellite maps from the U.S. Forest Service National Land Cover Database to track canopy changes across Chicago's 77 neighborhoods between 2011 and 2021.
- Canopy disparity is stark in Chicago: Forest Glen has close to 50 percent coverage while Archer Heights, a lower-income immigrant enclave on the southwest side, sits at just 8 percent.
- The study projected that a .03 percent year-to-year canopy increase — roughly 14,000 new trees — would yield 105 fewer deaths per year, with reductions driven partly by fewer chronic disease deaths.
- Cities including New York have prioritized planting new trees in historically neglected neighborhoods, but the researchers argue preserving older trees is equally critical.
- Michelle Stuhlmacher, a DePaul University geography professor who also studies Chicago's tree canopy, called the year-over-year data a signal of "longer-term investments or disinvestments."
Why it matters: For cities deciding where to spend limited tree-program dollars, the data reframes preservation as a health intervention: the gap between wealthy Forest Glen (50% canopy) and lower-income Archer Heights (8%) means mature trees already exist as lifesaving infrastructure, and losing them to development or neglect costs measurable lives — the study estimates 14,000 additional trees would prevent 105 deaths annually.
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