News, August 1, 2006: NASA Earth Observatory Maps NYC's Heat Island, Block by Block
Stuart Gaffin and his colleagues used Landsat data to assess New York City’s summer heat. This map shows vegetation, with beige indicating sparse vegetation and dark green indicating dense vegetation.
NASA’s Landsat satellite captured this image of New York City on August 14, 2002, at 10:30 a.m. (Maps by Robert Simmon, using data from the Landsat Program.)

invisible consequential 67 months ago | reply
Thanks for posting this, and best wishes for your urban gardening! I live along the Bushwick/Ridgewood border and have noticed several families planting squash, tomatoes, and even corn in their front yards. Otherwise cities are mostly artificial desert of our own creation. I linked to this image in an article about urban heat islands and climate change solutions. It's interesting that so many of the big green spots in Brooklyn and Queens are cemeteries.