Set Objectives, Define Success
Tree equity rests not just on a promise to plant trees in climate-burdened neighborhoods. Keeping the promise requires careful analysis of multiple data sets and a solid foundation of policy, programs and staff. No single survey, ordinance or office can make it happen.
Learn From Successful Programs
Before you plant your first tree, review your strategy to assure you are positioned to make it happen. The checklist below reviews the knowledge and assets in place before successful cities (like Medillin, Phoenix and others) began their cool corridors initiatives.
Before you plant your first tree!
Check off what you have and what you need:
Knowledge
Where to plant, why to plant, who to plant for (Based on Medillin report)
| Knowledge | Have | Need |
|---|---|---|
| Use Tree Equity Score to identify existing equity issues and vulnerable communities | ||
| Assess present and future urban heat conditions and impacts | ||
| Understand residents mobility needs and expectations not met by current system | ||
| Determine how the socio-political landscape might influence cooling strategies | ||
| Check for any easements affecting the property | ||
| Check zoning regulations and confirm that the property is being used in compliance with local zoning laws | ||
| Verify potential land use restrictions and future development plans |
Assets and Resources
Characteristics of Successful Programs
| Assets and Resources | Have | Need |
|---|---|---|
| Policies in place to implement projects | ||
| Planning practices that enable residents to influence decisions | ||
| Agency and NGO partners to help implement initiatives | ||
| Volunteer cadre trained to help plant and maintain trees | ||
| Long-term funding commitment to assure survival and longevity |
Set Priorities
After exploring Tree Equity Scores and mobility needs for neighborhoods in your community, consider where cool corridors can be created with your available resources. The number will vary. Some cities start with one. Others, like Phoenix and Medillin, commit to as many as ten, twenty or thirty.
Phoenix criteria for identifying priority neighborhoods
Phoenix developed a rating system that allowed them to identify areas of greatest need for investment.
Defeat the Density Paradox
In densely populated neighborhoods, residents may enjoy easy access to transit. But this same density complicates plans for cool corridors. Most undercanopied neighborhoods have plenty of pavement, but not very many sites where new trees or vegetation can be planted.
Concrete solutions
Many cities address the lack of planting and rooting space by lifting pavement and installing subsurface cells which provide ample soil and permeable surfaces necessary for tree growth. The problem? It’s expensive, time-consuming and potentially disruptive for residents.
Build your own shade
In many cities where density hampers tree planting, shade structures fill the gap. From awnings to art, bus shelters to building design, “manufactured shade” can help cool the pavement.
Measure Success
Communities faces different heat-related challenges. And most define success in ways that address the address their unique circumstances.
Neighborhood by neighborhood
American Forests’ Tree Equity Score allows you to measure both need and progress with a single, multidimensional tool. By relying on TES, you’ll have access to periodic updates of neighborhood tree canopy and demographics. And you’ll be able to set goals based on these data.
- Raise community wide TES by X percent, or X points.
- Increase tree canopy in targeted neighborhoods by X percent or to a range that brings them closer to parity with higher-income communities.
- For all target neighborhoods, raise cumulative, average or individual TES by X percent or to a specified level (e.g. TES of 70).
Corridor by corridor
In Phoenix, the nation’s hottest city, virtually all neighborhoods endure crushing summer heat. While their heat resilience plan covers the entire city, they’ve limited “cool corridors” to specific routes where the need is most extreme.
Success is measured by how many corridors provide residents with the amount of shade required at different times of day.
For a route intended to be:
- Safe for the entire summer, 62 percent or more of the route must be shaded during the hottest hours of the day.
- Safe for 95 percent of summer afternoon hours, shade must cover at least 30 percent of the route.
- Safe for 90 percent of summer afternoon hours, shade coverage should be greater or equal to 20 percent.