Data and methods comparing social structure and vegetation structure of urban neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland

Recent advances in remote sensing and the adoption of geographic information systems ( GIS) have greatly increased the availability of high-resolution spatial and attribute data for examining the relationship between social and vegetation structure in urban areas. There are several motivations for understanding this relationship. First, the United States has experienced a significant increase in the extent of urbanized land. Second, urban foresters increasingly recognize their need for data about urban forestry types, owners and property regimes, and associated social goods, benefits, and services. Third, previous research has focused primarily on the distribution of vegetation cover or diversity. However, little is known about ( 1) whether vegetation structure varies among urban neighborhoods and ( 2) whether the motivations, pathways, and capacities for vegetation management vary among households and communities. In this article, we describe novel data and methods from Baltimore, MD, and the Baltimore Ecosystem Study ( BES) to address these two questions.