Phoenix, Arizona is one of the hottest cities in the United States. Last year, 2017, was the hottest average year on record. Trees and other forms of shade coverage can, and do, help decrease temperatures and produce a cooling effect. And, trees help with air quality and have been proven to have positive health benefits.
But getting more trees into rapidly-growing Phoenix, the fifth-largest metro area in the nation, isn't as easy as planting a seed.
In 2010, the City of Phoenix published a Tree and Shade Master Plan with the goal of increasing canopy coverage by 25 percent (it's at 12 percent now) by 2030. Eight years later, a small subcommittee formed to tackle the issue. The Urban Heat Island/Tree and Shade Subcommittee, under the Environmental Quality and Sustainability Commission (EQSC), plans to give city council a list of recommendations on the best ways to combat urban heat islands.
Our project explores some of the efforts to increase tree canopy in Phoenix, particularly in the metro area, and the importance of trees in growing communities.