A community ecohealth index from enviroatlas ecosystem services metrics

Abstract

Human health is inextricably tied to ecosystem services (ES), including those associated with greenspace in urban communities. EnviroAtlas provides close to 100 maps of ES metrics based on high-resolution land cover data in featured communities across the contiguous United States. Using selected EnviroAtlas ES metrics, a Community EcoHealth Index (CEHI) was created based on an ecohealth framework including health promotion and hazard buffering domains. Aggregation of eight selected ES metrics in these domains entailed a weighted distance measure, where objective, data-driven weights were generated. CEHI was calculated by Census Block Group (CBG) at both the local level and the national level for 22 EnviroAtlas communities. Results were mapped to show one-to five-star CBGs or neighborhoods within and across all 22 featured communities. At the national level, CEHI favors communities in forested ecoregions. The local version of CEHI is more appropriate to inform social, economic, and environmental decision-making for improving community ES associated with human health.