'We need more shade': US's hottest city turns to trees to cool those most in need

To address shade inequality and rising heat deaths, the American Forests launched a digital tool in 2021 that scores geographic areas based on tree canopy and surface temperature, as well as other factors such as income, employment, race, age and health. It then calculates a Tree Equity Score and maps out the regions that have the greatest need for trees. With this information, Tucson aims to plant one million trees by 2030, and has already planted 120,000 over the past four years.

The Center of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona is a key part of the city’s growing climate shelter network, which has expanded from 70 locations in 2020 to 368 last summer. The climate centers are integrated into the city’s public infrastructure — libraries, parks, museums, etc. — and have expanded to the point where 98% of the population is within a 10-minute walk from a shelter.

Organizations in cities across the United States, including Philadelphia and Tucson, are simultaneously combatting urban heat and hunger by planting fruit trees and edible plants that provide shade and food that community members can harvest.

A collaboration between tree-planting organizations in Washington D.C. helps Catholic church properties to plant and care for trees. The free trees are an effort to combat urban heat and benefit the local environment.

As deadly heat waves become more common, cities are looking to increase social infrastructure and community connections to keep vulnerable community members safe from the heat.

A partnership between local nonprofit Climate Resolve and roofing and waterproofing manufacturer GAF covered 700,000 square feet of dark asphalt surfaces with a solar-reflective coating to help keep residents cool in the summer. Research found that during an extreme heat event, the area with the pavement coating saw ambient temperatures 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than an adjacent neighborhood.

Medellín, Colombia, is combating the urban heat island effect by creating green corridors across the city. Over 2.5 million plants and trees were carefully selected to maximize impact and planted on buildings and along roads and waterways.

A neighborhood group and a roofing company in Los Angeles, California, painted streets, parking lots, and a schoolyard with a “cool pavement” coating that reflects the heat from the sun. The coating keeping the surface cooler and providing relief from the urban heat island effect.

The Nomad Alliance bus is a warming center on wheels that provides people experiencing homelessness a safe place to stay. The bus accepts anyone who needs help, so long as they help keep the bus clean, and can take in about 20 people at a time.

Vienna’s cool streets provide a safe outdoor space to escape the heat in the summer. The city used a heat map and population data to select streets with high concentrations of residents who are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat, like children and the elderly. At the selected locations, traffic was limited and asphalt was covered with turf, benches, mist machines, and water fountains. When the city challenged the project, a citizen’s initiative in the Ottakring district worked with the local council to keep one cool street open last summer, saving a public safe outdoor space.