The Challenge
As heatwaves increase in severity across Australia, councils are under growing pressure to make cities cooler, healthier, and more resilient. In Launceston, that meant responding not only to the urban heat island effect, but also to the uneven way heat affects different parts of the community.
To do that well, the City of Launceston needed an approach that combined local government priorities, research expertise from the University of Tasmania, geospatial analysis from Geoneon, and input from local communities.
The city needed to answer a set of practical questions:
• What is the current baseline for urban canopy cover?
• Where is canopy lowest across the city?
• How does canopy relate to land surface temperature and population vulnerability?
• Where should urban greening efforts be prioritised?
This required more than a tree inventory. The challenge was to combine spatial analysis, heat and canopy data, and community input into a strategy that could guide long-term action.
The Solution
Geoneon collaborated with the City of Launceston and the University of Tasmania to help develop the city’s Urban Forest Strategy, with local communities also contributing through workshops that captured local priorities and preferences. The work combined high-resolution satellite imagery analysis, AI-based canopy mapping, an assessment of population vulnerability, and community input.
The analysis covered 85.2 km² of urban area and established a detailed baseline for canopy cover across the municipality. It also identified where lower canopy cover correlated with higher land surface temperatures and socio-economic vulnerability.
This gave the city an evidence base for moving from individual tree management toward a broader urban forest approach, grounded in current conditions, community input, and practical recommendations for creating and managing a more resilient urban forest.
The Results
The project resulted in a comprehensive Urban Forest Strategy for Launceston, supported by spatial analysis of canopy cover, heat, and vulnerability.
Key outcomes included:
• a measured baseline canopy cover of 19.5% across Launceston
• visibility into significant variation in canopy cover between suburbs
• identification of areas where lower canopy cover aligned with higher land surface temperatures and socio-economic vulnerability
• recommendations for strategic tree planting and urban forest management, with priority given to more vulnerable communities
The strategy marked a shift from managing trees individually to taking a more holistic urban forest perspective. It established a foundation for long-term greening action and informed a broader city goal to increase canopy cover to 40% by 2040. The city’s implementation planning has prioritised areas with the lowest canopy coverage and higher population vulnerability first.
As such, this work gave Launceston a clearer basis for deciding where urban greening could deliver the greatest climate and community benefit.
This work was later recognised with a national award for planning research excellence. You can read more about the award here.
