Last updated: November 2024
Phoenix is America’s fifth largest and hottest city, a sprawling urban heat island which has expanded without adequate consideration to climate and environmental factors like water scarcity and extreme heat (1). Multiple heat records were broken in 2023 including 133 days over 100F (37.7C), and 55 days topping 110F (43C) (1). Only around 9% of Phoenix is protected by tree canopies, yet this citywide figure masks vast inequities between wealthy, majority-white neighborhoods (1). As a response, the City of Phoenix has adopted an equity-driven heat mitigation plan to create a shadier, more livable environment amid rising temperatures and hundreds of heat-related deaths (1). Part of this plan created the Community Canopy Grant program, which offers public schools, churches and homes in qualifying census tracts – low-income neighborhoods with little shade funds for tree planting projects (1). One neighborhood, Grant Park is one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods – and one of the most neglected (1). It is a red lined neighborhood with higher pollution levels, less vegetation, more noise pollution and higher temperatures (1). To change the inequity and create enough shade to provide residents and passersby reprieve from the heat, the city planted around 40 trees in the Grant Park neighborhood within household yards (1-2). Residents can choose from a list of 19 native and desert-adapted trees including the Texas olive, Chinese red pistache and Chilean mesquites (1). The trees, which are a couple of years old and pretty heavy, are planted by contracted arborists (1). Following the planting process, each household was provided with a tree kit – a hose, irrigation timer and instrument to measure the soil pH and moisture, as well as written care instructions (1). This is the fourth tree planting effort by this city and the hope with this initiative is that it lasts (1).
Susan Ontiveros next to the freshly planted trees in her and Silverio's front yard.
Tamuna Chkareuli/The Guardian
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Climate change mitigation
- Environmental quality
- Air quality improvement
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Improving physical health
- Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
- Effective management
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Environmental education
- Environmental and climate justice
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Climate-Related Hazards
- Heat stress & Extreme temperatures
- Environmental Degradation
- Air pollution
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Unequal availability and access to public green spaces
- Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
- Physical health harm (from pollution, wildfire, extreme temperature)
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Social Justice and community
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of any other green urban spaces, Ecological restoration of ecosystems, Remediation activities of sites with very poor environmental quality, Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Educational and awareness raising programs, Strategy, plan or policy development, Creation of city-wide or neighborhood climate adaptation or mitigation strategies/programs, Community-based programs (e.g. "Green Your Laneway Program"), Improved governance of green or blue areas, Creation of new, innovative governance and management approaches
Project objectives
The goals of the Grant Park Neighborhood Tree Planting were to:
To increase shade cover in the park, providing residents and passersby with relief from the heat.
To supply residents with trees through the Community Canopy Grant program.
To plant desert-adapted trees that are suited to the local climate for residents and provide carbon sequestration
To distribute a tree care kit to residents to enhance the survival rate of newly planted trees and involve them in effective management practices
To improve city air quality by expanding shade coverage in the park.
To address tree inequity by planting in areas at higher risk of the urban heat island effect. (1, 2)
Implementation activities
In Phoenix, only about 9% of the city is shaded by tree canopies, with significant disparities between neighborhoods. Wealthier, majority-white areas have much more tree coverage, while neighborhoods like Grant Park—a predominantly Latino community—have only about 4% coverage. Grant Park experiences some of the highest temperatures and poorest environmental quality in the city.
To address this inequity, the City of Phoenix established the Community Canopy Grant program to expand tree canopy coverage in neighborhoods within Qualifying Census Tracts. Through this program, 40 trees were distributed to Grant Park residents who applied, with a choice of 19 native and desert-adapted species. Each household also received a tree care kit containing a hose, irrigation timer, soil pH and moisture meter, and written care instructions, providing essential tools and guidance to help these new trees thrive and create lasting shade. (1)
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Increase urban vegetation cover to reduce urban heat island effect
Climate change mitigation:
- Increase the availability of green urban space for carbon storage (street tree cover)
- Improve carbon sequestration through selection of more adaptable species
Communities vulnerable to environmental hazards or climate change impacts
Yes
Specification of climate or environmentally vulnerable communities
Low-income neighborhoods, Urban heat islands, Minority or marginalized ethnic groups
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Marginalized groups: Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed), Disadvantaged ethnic or racial groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Citizens or community group
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Dissemination of information and education
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
- Citizen monitoring and review
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
Government:
-Local government/municipality: The City of Phoenix is the founder and driver of the Community Canopy Grant program, providing tree cover to residents as part of the Tree and Shade Masterplan (1-2). The city of Phoenix hired professional landscape contractors to plant the trees (1-2).
-National Government: Through the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act the program recivies funding for the project through the US government (1-2).
Non-government actors:
-Citizens or community group: residents of the Grant Park neighborhood applied to the grant program to receive new trees. Each household also gets a tree kit – a 100ft hose, irrigation timer and instrument to measure the soil pH and moisture, as well as written care instructions
-Citizens or community group: Silverio Ontiveros, a retired police chief turned community organizer who drummed up interest for the tree planting by knocking on doors and putting flyers through every neighbor’s letterbox (1-2)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Yes
(the 2021 American Rescue Plan – and the Inflation Reduction Act (1).
)
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(The city of Phoenix Tree and Shade Masterplan, Office of Heat Response and Mitigation (“OHRM”), Residential Tree Equity Accelerator (1-2). )
Type of enablers
Capacity-building projects, Change agents (individual with major role influence on launching), Funds, subsidies or investment for GI/NBS in the city (available for the city or provided by the city)
Financing
Total cost
Less than €10,000
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
- Public national budget
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
No
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Lowered local temperature
- Expected lowered local temperature
- Enhanced carbon sequestration
- Expected enhanced carbon sequestration
- Environmental quality
- Improved air quality
- Expected improved air quality
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Achieved increased green space area
- Increased number of species present
- Achieved increased number of species present
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved liveability
- Expected improved liveability
- Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
- Achieved increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Expected increased opportunities for social interaction
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Achieved increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Health and wellbeing
- Improved physical health
- Expected improved physical health
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Achieved increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Safety
- Improved community safety to climate-related hazards
- Expected improved community safety to climate-related hazards
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Unknown
References
1.
Lakhani, N. (2024). ‘We need more shade’: US’s hottest city turns to trees to cool those most in need. [Source link];
2.
City of Phoenix (n.d.). City of Phoenix Community Canopy Grant. [Source link];
3.
Maricopa Association of Governments (n.d.). Arizona Demographics . [Source link];
The city contractors plant the trees for the residents who applied for the program.
Tamuna Chkareuli/The Guardian
The city distributes the tree care kits for the community.
Tamuna Chkareuli/The Guardian
trees in Grant
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/17/pheonix-arizona-hottest-city-tree-planting-shade
trees in Grant
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/17/pheonix-arizona-hottest-city-tree-planting-shade
trees in Grant
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/17/pheonix-arizona-hottest-city-tree-planting-shade
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.