Dataset
NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure
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Greater Sydney Canopy Access 2022

The Greater Sydney Canopy Access 2022 dataset provides information on community access to tree canopy cover in Greater Sydney. It enables quick reference to localised canopy cover and identification of local areas of low or high tree canopy cover to target policy interventions and projects. It can be used to prioritise action to achieve equitable access to the benefits of canopy and trees for the community.

The dataset was created to enable broad availability and use of the Greater Sydney Region Tree Canopy 2022 Dataset. It consists of vegetation cover (i.e. canopy cover and green cover) in hexagonal vector grid format, for each Local Government Area in Greater Sydney and the whole Greater Sydney Region. It is derived from a height stratified vegetation cover dataset (i.e. Greater Sydney Region Tree Canopy 2022) acquired by ArborCarbon over Greater Sydney at 16,000ft AGL from fixed wing aircraft between 3 October 2022 and 20 February 2023.

In the dataset, "tree canopy" is classified as all vegetation greater than 3m. "All vegetation" includes vegetation, including tree canopy, greater than 0m. Note: due to data limitations, not all grass areas have been identified in their entirety.

The dataset can be used to understand community access to canopy at the local scale. It should not be used to calculate canopy cover at Local Government Area (LGA) or suburb scale. Summary statistics for canopy cover at these scales is available on the NSW Government SEED portal (see methodology report).

The hexagon cells at the edge of capture area may not accurately reflect the canopy cover on the ground because the canopy cover was calculated across the whole hexagon and not just the part of the hexagon that canopy was recorded in.

Data and Resources

  • Data Quality Statement PDF

    Data quality statement for Greater Sydney Canopy Access 2022

  • Greater Sydney Region ZIP

    Shapefile download package for the Greater Sydney Region - GDA2020 & GDA94

  • LGAs - B ZIP

    Shapefile download package - Bayside, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Burwood -...

  • LGAs - C ZIP

    Shapefile download package - Camden, Campbelltown, Canada Bay, Canterbury...

  • LGA - F-I ZIP

    Shapefile download package - Fairfield, Georges River, Hawksbury, Hornsby,...

  • LGA - K-M ZIP

    Shapefile download package - Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, Liverpool, Mosman -...

  • LGA - N-P ZIP

    Shapefile download package - North Sydney, Northern Beaches, Parramatta,...

  • LGA - R-S ZIP

    Shapefile download package - Randwick, Ryde, Strathfield, Sutherland, Sydney...

  • LGA - T-W ZIP

    Shapefile download package - The Hills, Waverley, Willoughby, Wollondilly,...

  • Esri REST Service ARCRS

    REST Service

  • Methodology report - 2022 Greater Sydney... PDF

    Methodology for development of 2022 Greater Sydney Canopy Access Dataset

Metadata Summary What is metadata?

Field Value
Language English
Edition 1
Purpose Tree canopy planning and management
Frequency of change Not planned
Keywords VEGETATION-Structural,HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT-Planning
Metadata Date 2024-06-11
Date of Asset Creation 2024-06-11
Date of Asset Publication 2025-04-22
License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
Geospatial Topic Biota
NSW Place Name Greater Sydney Region
Extent

Dataset extent

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Temporal Coverage From 2022-10-03 - 2023-02-20
Datum GDA94 Geographic (Lat\Long)
Legal Disclaimer Read
Attribution NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure asserts the right to be attributed as author of the original material in the following manner: "© State Government of NSW and NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure 2025"