Heat and air quality issues caused by climate change and gas-powered vehicles affect San Francisco communities differently. Tree canopy that would buffer the effects is not equally distributed due to historic racial inequities in infrastructure investment.

To positively affect public health and leverage new federal funding sources, the City and other stakeholders are planning for green infrastructure investments, such as tree planting, sidewalk landscape zones, cool pavement, structural shading, green schoolyards, and increased areas of stormwater management. This dataset identifies locations where these strategies could have the highest benefit to community health and make the most effective use of City investment.

SF Public Works mapped a combination of environmental and health data to identify the priority zones. The study layers exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), satellite temperature readings from a recent heat wave, and tree canopy data to identify where exposure is the highest. To further refine the prioritization zone, data was added for residents experiencing asthma or diabetes hospitalizations which are both exacerbated by heat and air quality issues.

This created two final maps focused on heat and air quality that combine environmental data and human health. These maps were combined to produce the final priority zones.