A side-by-side comparison of Chattanooga’s 2014 urban forest canopy (left) vs. the 2023 urban canopy (right) from “Mapping Chattanooga’s Urban Forests.”
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Center for Applied Geospatial Data Science (CAGDS) has been selected as a finalist in the 2025 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition, earning international recognition for an interactive mapping project that uses geospatial data science and artificial intelligence to guide where trees are planted across the city.
CAGDS was named a finalist in the Environment category for “Mapping Chattanooga’s Urban Forests,” a StoryMap created by GIS Director Charlie Mix that documents how UTC researchers, city leaders and nonprofit partners are using data to address urban heat and tree canopy loss.
As a finalist, UTC is now featured alongside other top projects globally, and the public is invited to vote for a Community Choice Award through March 10. Winners in each category will be announced in April.
“It’s a pretty big nomination in the world of cartography,” Mix said. “Just the fact that we were selected as a finalist has me excited and humbled.”
The ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition is cohosted by Esri’s ArcGIS StoryMaps and ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World teams. Esri is an international supplier of geographic information system software, web GIS and geodatabase management applications.
The competition draws entries from around the world and highlights how geospatial data can be used to tell place-based stories about environmental, social and infrastructure challenges.
For the 2025 competition, more than 450 storytellers from 55 countries submitted stories in 14 languages across three categories—Environment, People and Infrastructure. Finalists were selected based on storytelling quality, cartography and the effective use of geospatial data.
Mix’s StoryMap centers on the Chattanooga Tree Project, a citywide effort funded by a $6 million U.S. Forest Service grant to plant 5,000 trees where they are needed most. The project brings together the City of Chattanooga, local nonprofits and UTC researchers to address the loss of tree canopy and the effects of urban heat islands, particularly in neighborhoods most vulnerable to extreme summer temperatures.
The StoryMap walks users through how UTC’s geospatial data scientists used high-resolution aerial imagery, deep learning models and satellite data to map tree canopy, identify urban heat severity and create a heat risk index for neighborhoods across the city. That index combines environmental data with demographic indicators such as age, income, access to air conditioning and transportation.
“What we’re really showing is a workflow that can be repeated,” Mix said. “It’s about illustrating how universities can partner with local government and nonprofits to tackle a complex problem using data.”
According to the analysis featured in the StoryMap, Chattanooga has experienced a significant decline in tree canopy over time, with losses accelerating in dense urban areas.
By training deep learning models to recognize tree canopy in aerial imagery, UTC researchers were able to complete analyses in hours that once took weeks or months, with accuracy rates approaching 97%.
“That’s been a game changer for us,” Mix said. “It lets us move much faster and then layer in other data to understand risk and make informed decisions.”
City leaders and urban foresters are now using the resulting maps to guide planting efforts and long-term planning. Neighborhoods with the highest heat risk scores are prioritized for new trees, helping ensure that limited resources are directed where they can have the greatest impact.
The project also reflects the broader mission of CAGDS, which became a university-level center last year. The center supports research, instruction and community partnerships that use geospatial technologies to inform decision-making across environmental, economic and social issues.
“We don’t do this work to get national recognition; we do this work to make an impact on UTC students and the community,” Mix said. “But getting recognized like this is very humbling. It lets me know we might be doing something right.”
In addition to its local impact, the Chattanooga Tree Project has drawn attention beyond the region. Esri recently featured the work in a national blog post highlighting how maps, AI and trees are being used to fight urban heat in Chattanooga, further elevating UTC’s role in applied geospatial research.
For Mix, the StoryMap format is central to that visibility. Each GIS course he teaches requires students to create StoryMaps as a way to translate technical analysis into accessible narratives for public audiences.
“A StoryMap is really about bringing your map to life,” he said. “It lets you combine interactive maps, words and other media to tell a story that people can understand and use.”
For Mix, the recognition reinforces the value of the center’s work and its focus on using geospatial data science to inform decision-making.
“The story here is that this project is getting international recognition,” he said, “and hopefully it inspires others to do the same kind of work in their own communities.”
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