We’ve known for a long time that trees can keep the built environment cooler, but with heat waves and deaths spiking worldwide, it has become an urgent need in many areas.
I’ve never understood why there isn’t a movement to go around to every piece of open municipal land that isn’t used for anything much (except to burn gas to cut the grass every summer) and plant tree seedlings on it.
Yes I hear “town elders” saying blah-blah-blah traffic safety - maintenance - etc. but ffs, just get on and do it, and figure out the few problems as they arise. It does not need years of committee study!
There are even severalcompanies who will fly in 100s per minute from a drone.
A lot of people just don’t like the fact that trees make their lives difficult in minor ways. Sometimes the political opposition can be very hard to overcome. Also, I live in a semi-arid climate and most trees won’t survive without some level of care. So that becomes an issue of who will water, weed, mulch, prune, etc.
Yes it’s a common design pattern in warmer European countries.
Although I rarely see (in Paris) the entire street covered by trees, usually at least pedestrian parts are in the leaf shade. In my smaller hometown (10km from Paris’ edge) I’d guess we have 50/50 for entire coverage/partial
This study showed Paris with a dismal 9% canopy coverage, which was one of the lowest measured: senseable.mit.edu/treepedia
Perhaps if the trees are strategically located where they are needed it may have a bigger impact? But what I’ve read is that the benefits really kick in when you reach about 30-40% coverage which is substantially higher than virtually all cities.
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