## 5 Conclusions  
Chattanooga is quite literally a \"green city\", with roughly half of its area composed of forested land, as shown in our 50-cm-resolution land cover map of the city--the highest-resolution and most accurate land cover map that has been created for Chattanooga, according to the authors' knowledge. Historical Landsat imagery analyses indicate a reduction in UTC with new development. Studies such as ours need to be performed at defined intervals to track trends over time and to monitor urban forested land. Precision GIS and remote sensing are crucial to understanding the relationships between land cover and human/social interactions. Even though strong correlations between UTC and income/other demographics were not found, it is still important to protect and enhance the existing UTC for biodiversity, health, and a sense of place and to help to combat heat island effects and promote climate resilience. The spatial analysis described in this paper should be conducted regularly to track changes within UTC and other land cover variables, heat severity, and demographics to minimize the detrimental impacts on urban forests, thus preventing the emergence of tree equity and access issues for residents. This research shows the need for future studies of UTC and its influence on social and environmental variables. Future research could help us to better understand the topics described in this paper and identify temporal trends.  
The preservation of UTC depends on various stakeholders' interest and values throughout the city. Future policies, incentives, and outreach all stand to benefit from a better understanding of the advantages of protecting and expanding UTC for all residents of Earth beyond Chattanooga. Partnerships between governments, local non-profits, and private citizens and industry will help these management goals to become a greater possibility. As Chattanooga has maintained a track record of success in becoming more environmentally conscious, earning the title of \"The Scenic City\" and striving to meet sustainability goals, continued UTC monitoring is imperative in understanding the environmental health of the city and preserving its qualities.  
C.M.: principal investigator, wrote and edited paper, ran spatial analysis, managed funding, supervised staff; N.H.: wrote and edited paper, supervised staff; W.S.: performed object-based image analysis on SkySat imagery and developed high-resolution land cover map; A.K.M.A.H.: assisted study design; B.W.B.: assisted writing of paper. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research is funded by Lyndhurst Foundation.  
Not applicable.  
**Data Availability Statement:** Open-source data are available on ArcGIS Online. [[https://igtlab.maps.arcgis.com/home/group.html?id=e68f1c1a7e7c4d9380d3f1f137](https://igtlab.maps.arcgis.com/home/group.html?id=e68f1c1a7e7c4d9380d3f1f137) eefb70]([https://igtlab.maps.arcgis.com/home/group.html?id=e68f1c1a7e7c4d9380d3f1f137](https://igtlab.maps.arcgis.com/home/group.html?id=e68f1c1a7e7c4d9380d3f1f137) eefb70) (accessed on 31 May 2024).  
**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflicts of interest.