Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Cities are home to around half of the global population but face intensified and unevenly distributed heat stresses. Trees are utilized to adapt to urban heat; however, most tree planting is prioritized by either biophysical or social metrics, rather than an integration of the two. It therefore remains unclear how to maximize ecological and social benefits of tree planting in the context of environmental justice. Here, we analyze social vulnerability to heat and the cooling capacity of trees across 38 of the largest cities in the United States. We find that socially vulnerable people tend to live in hotter neighborhoods with less tree canopy. Furthermore, tree planting in such neighborhoods can achieve greater cooling benefits per unit increase in canopy. Increasing tree cover in these neighborhoods will meet the greatest need for cooling and achieve greater cooling capacity, creating social and ecological co-benefits. Adaptation measures must address both the distributional injustices of urban heat and procedural justice in planning and managing nature-based cooling approaches.
Source: One Earth
Authors: Weiqi Zhou, Ganlin Huang, Steward T.A. Pickett, Jing Wang, M.L. Cadenasso, Timon McPhearson, J. Morgan Grove, Jia Wang
Institutions: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Beijing Normal University, State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, University of California, Davis, The New School, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, US Forest Service, Northern Research Station
Language: English
Topic: Urban Heat Island Mitigation
Subfield: Environmental Engineering
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $8,900
OpenAlex ID: W4200100473