As a heat dome drives dangerous temperatures across much of the United States and renews concerns about extreme heat, USC researchers have developed a new, freely available AI tool that could help cities better understand one of their best defenses against rising temperatures: trees.
The USC-developed tool combines free aerial imagery with AI to create detailed tree canopy maps without costly lidar surveys, which use lasers to produce highly detailed 3D landscape maps, or commercial satellite imagery that many existing systems require. The technology could help communities make smarter, targeted investments in urban forests as extreme heat becomes more common.
“Trees provide a wide range of benefits, including helping reduce the health risks associated with rising temperatures in cities,” said John Wilson, founding director of the Spatial Sciences Institute at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the study’s corresponding author. “But to plant trees where they’ll make the biggest difference, cities first need a clear picture of their existing tree canopy.”
