---
title: "Urban Forest Patch Viewer"
slug: "urban-forest-patch-viewer"
updated: 2026-08-26T13:04:46Z
published: 2026-08-26T13:04:46Z
canonical: "fic.naturalareasnyc.org/urban-forest-patch-viewer"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://fic.naturalareasnyc.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Urban Forest Patch Viewer

The [Urban Forest Patch interactive map](https://research.fs.usda.gov/nrs/products/dataandtools/urban-forest-patch-viewer) displays forest patches, which are either smaller “groves” or larger “forested natural areas,” in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. The map viewer allows users to interact with the map and its feature layers and provides bookmarks that highlight each city and its forest patches.

### In a nutshell, this resource offers:

- A map of forest patches in four East Coast cities.
- A breakdown of land ownership for forest patches.
- A method that distinguishes forest edges.

### How to use this resource:

- As an example of satellite-based forest patch mapping.
- To identify and manage forest patches in four cities.
- As a great example of natural area applications of mapping.

**Author:** Nancy Falxa Sonti, USDA Forest Service and Mathew Baker, University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

**Date published:** September 15, 2023

**P****oint of contact:** nancy.f.sonti@usda.gov

**Citation:**

[Resource is available online here](https://research.fs.usda.gov/nrs/products/dataandtools/urban-forest-patch-viewer).

- Patch mapping methodology is described in Alonzo, M., Baker, M. E., Gao, Y., & Shandas, V. (2021). [Spatial configuration and time of day impact the magnitude of urban tree canopy cooling](https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac12f2). Environmental Research Letters, 16(8), 084028.

[Embedded object](https://cdn.document360.io/18a9acd7-787d-47fa-9b54-01592bb1d507/Images/Documentation/Alonzo_2021_Environ._Res._Lett._16_084028.pdf)

##

## Related

- [Distribution, Benefits, and Regulations of Baltimore’s Forest Patches](/distribution-benefits-regulations-baltimore-forest-patches.md)
- [Whose woods are these? Forest patch characteristics and ownership across cities of the eastern United States](/whose-woods-are-these-forest-patch-characteristics-and-ownership.md)