-EnviroAtlas
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Community Summary
Fact Sheet
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people 4 health 4 nature 4 economy
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www. epa. go v/ enviroatlas
St. Louis, Missouri and vicinity
Towns and cities rely on clean air, clean water, green space,
and other natural amenities for economic sustainability and
quality of life, yet their benefits are not always fully
understood or considered in local decisions. EPA and its
partners are producing EnviroAtlas to help communities
better use environmental assets for public good.
EnviroAtlas includes an online interactive mapping
application that anyone can use. The interactive map
contains over 300 maps available for the U.S., as well as
100+ fine-scale maps for selected U.S. communities about
existing and potential benefits from the local natural
environment. The EnviroAtlas community component is
based on 1-meter resolution land cover data. Information
derived from these data is summarized by census block
groups; more spatially explicit map layers are also provided.
This fact sheet highlights some of the many community data
layers available for the featured area of St. Louis, Missouri.
Background
The EnviroAtlas boundary for this area was detennined
using the 2010 Census definition of an Urban Area. In
addition to St. Louis, the boundary encompasses part or all
of St. Charles, St. Louis, and Jefferson Counties, Missouri,
and Madison, St. Clair, and Monroe Counties, Illinois. The
area measures 3,663 square kilometers and encompasses
1,552 census block groups.
The St. Louis area falls along the Mississippi River, south
of its confluence with the Missouri River, and in the Interior
River Valley and Hills ecoregion. It has a humid subtropical
climate with hot, humid summers and cold winters.
Percent Land Cover in Community Area
¦	Water
¦	Impervious
Soil & Barren
¦	Trees & Forest
¦	Grass & Herbaceous
Agriculture
Woody Wetlands
¦	Emergent Wetlands
St Louis
>72 ft
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I.It V|l li
Kilometers
Service Layer Credits: Sources: Esri. HERE, Garmin, Intermap, increment
PCorp.. GEBCO. USGS, FAO. NPS. NRCAN, GeoBase, IGN, Kadaster
NL. Ordnance Survey Esri Japan, METI. Esri China (Hong Kong),
swisstopo. © OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community
The area was historically prairie and open forest, and many
residential neighborhoods have maintained large native
shade trees. The leading industry sectors are manufacturing
and health care. BJC Health Care, Washington University
in St. Louis, and SSM Health are among the largest
employers in the metropolitan area. The demographics of
the area indicate that the potential exists for income and
other disparities in the distribution of environmental assets.
EnviroAtlas includes demographic maps that can help
screen for potential health and well-being disparities
resulting from disproportionate distribution of urban
greenery.
St. Louis Area Demographics
2010 Census
Total population
2,174,437
Under 13 years old
16.8%
Over 70 years of age
9.3%
Other than white/non-
Hispanic
30.4%
Below twice the U.S.
poverty level
27.1%
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Ecosystem Services Overview
In EnviroAtlas, the benefits humans receive from nature are
grouped into seven categories that demonstrate the
interconnectedness of these ecosystem services:
•	Clean air
•	Clean and plentiful water
•	Natural hazard mitigation
•	Climate stabilization
•	Recreation, culture, and aesthetics
•	Biodiversity conservation
•	Food, fuel, and materials (data available only for
communities with farm land)
Examples of some of the data included in EnviroAtlas are
detailed below:
Green Space and Trees
Research indicates that physical and visual access to trees
and other green space has positive physiological, cognitive,
and emotional benefits. Lack of these resources in the
places where we live, learn, work, and play can adversely
impact human health and well-being. In the St Louis area:
•	There are 1,232 square meters of green space per
person.
•	Almost 60 percent of the pedestrian-accessible
street length is bordered by at least 20% tree
canopy.
•	Only about 22,000 residents likely have limited to
no views of trees from their homes. (This estimate
does not account for obstructed window views.)
•	158 K-12 schools (17%) have less than 25 percent
vegetation coverage within 100m of the building.
Students in these schools may benefit from
enhanced views of tree cover, gardens, and other
greenery from classroom and cafeteria windows.
Near-Road Environments
Studies indicate that the capacity of trees to filter and deflect
airflow may reduce the health impacts of vehicular pollution
on nearby populations. In EnviroAtlas, you can find detailed
maps of tree coverage along both high-speed and walkable
roads. In the St. Louis community area:
•	An estimated 52 percent of the population lives within
300 meters of a high-speed roadway. This distance is
within the zone of air pollutant drift from unobstructed
roadways.
•	For 74 percent of the estimated population living within
this 300-meter zone, nearby high-speed roads have less
than 25% adjacent tree cover.
EnviroAtlas Tools and Features
•	Learn more about EnviroAtlas data: https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-data
•	Search our data layers and access their fact sheets: https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-dvnamic-data-matrix
•	Explore data for the St. Louis community area in our interactive mapping application:
https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-interactive-map
•	Use our Eco-Health Relationship Browser to explore ecosystems, the services they provide, and their benefits to human
health and well-being: https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-eco-health-relationship-browser
•	Contact us with questions about EnviroAtlas: https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/forms/contact-enviroatlas
Proximity to Green Space
Percent green space
within 1/4 sq. km.
Water
¦	0-20
21 -40
41 -60
¦	61-80
¦	81 -100
Washington
EnviroAtlas combines maps, graphs, and other analysis tools, fact sheets, and downloadable data into an easy-to-use, web-based
educational and decision-support tool. EnviroAtlas helps users understand the connections between the benefits we derive from
ecosystem services and the natural resources that provide them. For more information, please visit www.epa.gov/enviroatlas.
September 2019

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