Declining Urban Tree Canopy Around Public Schools: Highlighting Priorities for Urban Greening

Urban Woody Vegetation Cover (UWVC) near schools shapes the thermal and psychological conditions of students' daily environments, yet canopy cover surrounding schools remains poorly documented. We quantified UWVC within 250 m and 500 m buffers around 336 Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) using land-cover surveys from images procured in 2011-2014 evaluated in 2016 and images procured in 2019 and 2020 (UWVC-2011/14) evaluated in 2022 (UWVC-2019/20). Mean UWVC near schools in UWVC-2019-20 was 13.6% (250 m) and 15.0% (500 m), far below the county-wide average of around 20% and even father below the stated county goal of 30% canopy cover. Notably, canopy cover declined near most schools between UWVC-2011-14 and UWVC-2019/20, with 57–63% of schools experiencing net losses, contrasting with a relatively stable county-wide trend. Based on M-DCPS administrative operational regions, regional disparities were pronounced. Schools in South Miami-Dade lost significantly more canopy than those in the North or Central regions (Kruskal–Wallis, p < 0.01); and schools meeting priority-intervention criteria (below-average canopy cover and continued canopy loss) were concentrated in the southern region, representing 14% of southern schools compared with only 1% of northern schools. School type influenced UWVC at the 250 m scale (Senior High > Elementary, p < 0.005), but not at 500 m. Results were broadly similar across spatial scales (ICC = 0.907), although the 250 m buffer was more sensitive to local variation. These findings indicate that UWVC surrounding M-DCPS schools is substantially lower than county-wide averages and declined in many locations between UWVC-2011/14 and UWVC-2019-20. The observed spatial heterogeneity highlights the value of school-level UWVC assessments for identifying canopy deficits, monitoring temporal change, and prioritizing locations for future greening efforts.