Harrisonburg Health & Air Quality: Assessing Land Change and Urban Heat Islands for Future Tree Planting in Harrisonburg, Virginia

In recent years, Harrisonburg, Virginia has experienced a substantial decrease in urban tree canopy. This is largely due to the arrival of the emerald ash borer, a pest that feeds on species of ash trees, coupled with an increase in urban development. Exposure to excess heat and flooding has become a growing concern for the city’s 51,000 residents because these phenomena can diminish the quality of life, limit economic opportunity, and increase costs related to energy and infrastructure. NASA DEVELOP partnered with the City of Harrisonburg Public Works Department to map and quantify changes in land cover and land surface temperature from 2014 – 2024. The team utilized NASA Earth observations from Landsat 8 Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) and Landsat 9 TIRS-2 to analyze land surface temperature. Additionally, the team utilized imagery from the United States Department of Agriculture National Agriculture Imagery Program to quantify tree canopy and impervious surface change. Decreases in tree canopy cover and increases in impervious surfaces correlated with increases in land surface temperature. These results will support the City of Harrisonburg Public Works Department in identifying areas for future tree plantings and focusing resiliency efforts on vulnerable areas within their municipality.