https://reasonstobecheerful.world/tucson-million-trees-equity/
"On a recent Sunday morning, the Barrio Centro neighborhood in Tucson, Arizona,
was abuzz with activity. People from all walks of life were busy hauling dirt,
planting saplings and building earthworks like berms and swales in the warm
spring air.
They were part of a community planting event organized by Tucson Clean and
Beautiful, a local nonprofit, as part of a larger, city-wide effort to fill
street corners and vacant lots with groves of trees. The ultimate goal: to
create more shade and increase heat resilience in the most vulnerable
neighborhoods.
Tucson, sitting in the middle of the Sonoran Desert, is among the
fastest-warming cities in the US. Over the past five decades, its average
temperature has soared by 4.48 degrees Fahrenheit; last year, the town
sustained more than 50 consecutive days with temperatures surpassing 100
degrees.
However, the heat hits some areas harder than others. In neighborhoods in
southern Tucson such as Barrio Centro, predominantly home to Latino and
low-income communities, temperatures can be up to eight degrees warmer than the
city’s average and a staggering 12 degrees hotter than affluent areas in the
city’s north like the Catalina Foothills.
Such a difference is the legacy of decades of neglect that prevented the
development of green spaces in the city’s poorer neighborhoods, argues Fatima
Luna, Tucson’s chief resilience officer. “The south part of Tucson has been
historically under-resourced, and there are not a lot of tree canopies there,”
she says.
The extra heat endured by low-income neighborhoods often coincides with limited
access to air conditioning, putting residents at risk of heat-related illnesses
and even death. “This isn’t merely an environmental issue,” maintains Luna.
“It’s a critical public health concern.”
To address these disparities, in 2020 Tucson set a lofty goal: to plant one
million trees by the decade’s end. The commitment came as the city joined the
1t.org Stakeholder Council, a coalition dedicated to global tree restoration
efforts. The US chapter of this council — which includes organizations like
REI, the National Forest Foundation and Amazon, and cities like Dallas and
Detroit — has pledged to plant over one billion trees collectively."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
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mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
