Canopy Equity KE

The Canopy Equity KE project addresses the critical challenge of Urban Heat Island (UHI) inequality in rapidly growing Kenyan urban centers. While climate change drives rising surface temperatures, there is a systemic lack of data-backed tools to ensure that urban greening initiatives such as tree planting and park development are distributed fairly to the most vulnerable populations. Current urban planning often fails to correlate environmental heat hazards with socioeconomic vulnerability (such as low household income and high population density), leading to "green inequity" where high-need, low-income neighborhoods remain trapped in high temperature zones with minimal adaptive capacity. Canopy Equity KE solves this by providing a spatial intelligence platform that maps these disparities, empowering planners to transition from reactive management to proactive, equity-focused environmental justice

Canopy Equity KE is a proactive urban planning platform designed to address "green inequity" and heat vulnerability in Kenyan urban centers. By calculating a weighted Urban Heat Vulnerability Score (UHVS), the tool integrates satellite-derived environmental data (LST and NDVI) with socioeconomic indicators (population density and income) to identify neighborhoods at the highest risk. This spatial intelligence allows planners to simulate the impact of greening initiatives and provides data-driven evidence to ensure environmental resources are prioritized for the most vulnerable communities