Tree Canopies Cool Neighborhoods. The Inflation Reduction Act Commits $1.5B to Plant Many More

Shoji Fujita/Getty Images

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

The massive federal measure offers a five-fold increase in funding tree planting nationwide, especially in low-income communities that are typically hotter in summers.

With a recent study predicting that more of the nation will be suffering through 100-degree days 30 years from now, the Biden administration is giving a major boost to cities trying to deal with the extreme heat ahead by planting more trees and creating more shade.

Included in the Inflation Reduction Act President Biden signed into law last week are $1.5 billion in grants the federal government will be sending to states, local governments and nonprofits over the next decade to plant trees.

Working out to an average of $150 million a year, Biden’s climate, health-care and taxes measure will mean a five-fold increase for the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Urban and Community Forestry Program over the $32 million the program is receiving this fiscal year.

However, Republicans are mocking spending so much on trees.

“Don’t we have enough trees around here?” Herschel Walker, a Georgia Republican U.S. Senate candidate said on the campaign trail last week, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Republicans, who unanimously voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, also pointed to the tree funding during the debate over the bill. In particular, Republicans have raised concerns that the measure, which will be paid for in part by raising the minimum tax on large corporations, could worsen inflation.

“Their so-called Inflation Reduction Act is chock-full of Green New Deal spending. Things like $1.5 billion – billion – for a grant program to plant trees,” said Sen. John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, during the debate on the Senate floor before it was approved with Democrats’ unanimous support.

Thune also criticized the law for creating $1.9 billion in neighborhood access and equity grants for a wide range of purposes including improving walkability, safety and affordable transportation in communities and to identify gaps in tree coverage.

A Growing Trend

The money, though, will come as some states and localities have been planting more trees to respond to climate change, particularly in the minority neighborhoods that tend to be more bare than in other areas.

Phoenix is planting trees where many pedestrians, including students, walk to create 10 tree-lined “Cool Corridors” by the end of the year. The city is hoping to plant 20,000 trees to have 100 shady corridors by 2030.

In Boise, Idaho, the city has planted more than 14,000 trees toward its goal of adding 100,000 by 2030. Its City of Trees Challenge wants one tree for every household and one seedling for every person in the city.

In Florida, Miami-Dade County is planting 300,000 trees, and is trying to rally cities, schools, corporations and others to plant 700,000 more to reach a goal of adding 1 million trees.

Despite the criticism, the increase in federal funding is drawing applause from local officials like Boise City Council President Elaine Clegg, who said in an interview it could accelerate what the city is trying to do.

The funding was also praised by Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. “This transformational package will accelerate our efforts to achieve tree equity in every neighborhood by 2030, bolstering resilience to extreme heat and reducing energy bills for Phoenix families,” she said in a statement to Route Fifty

The funding is “transformative” for the 44-year-old USDA Urban Community and Forestry Program, said Joel Pannell. vice president of urban policy for American Forests, an advocacy group that wants to increase trees nationally, in an interview.

The program, since its creation in 1978, has been able to help fund the creation of state plans. But it has had a limited amount of funding to plant trees and care for them, said Pannell, whose group also works with localties and groups to plant trees.

“This will allow it to do a lot more on the ground,” Pannell said.

“It’s going to give the program a real shot in the arm,” agreed Keith Wood, who staffs the National Association of State Foresters’ urban and community forestry committee, in an interview.

While $1.8 billion may seem exorbitant, Mark Buscaino, executive director of Casey Trees, said communities will get a few million dollars once the money is spread around. However, that could encourage more localities that do not have the resources to plant as many trees to do more, he said in an interview. The group along with Washington’s transportation department plants about 10,000 to 15,000 trees a year in order to try to cover 40% of the city with tree canopies, up from 35% now.

Clegg, who championed Boise’s effort, defended the federal spending on trees. The city has spent $80,000 thus far on the project, she said. Boise’s residents are embracing the effort, she said, with the city seeing three times more people volunteering to help plant trees than  anticipated.

“If you look at the value of trees, what we’ve spent is pennies on the dollars for what we’re getting,” said Clegg, who said she developed a love of trees as a child from “having a reading spot six feet off the ground.”

Among trees’ benefits, Wood said, is dealing with rising temperatures. “Urban heat islands are real,” Wood said. 

Not only do trees provide cover from the sun, they cool the air by releasing water from their leaves or evapotranspiration, he  said.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, shaded surfaces can be 20- to 45-degrees cooler than unshaded areas, and evapotranspiration can help reduce peak summer temperatures by 2 to 9 degrees.

That’s become more critical as temperatures rise. A study by the First Street Foundation released last week found that over the next 30 years the number of counties expected to reach a heat index of 125 degrees at least once a year will jump from 50 in 2023 to 1,023 in 2053. The number of people in the U.S. facing extreme heat would rise from 8.1 million to 107.6 million.

In addition, Wood said, because trees can absorb stormwater, it keeps sewage systems from overflowing and polluting waterways. 

And because leaves can catch particulate matter, they also keep the air cleaner, he said.

“Trees are the best air filters and air conditioners,” Pannell said. He added that keeping temperatures cooler would also save money for those living in the areas because they would not have to run air conditioning as much.

Not a Partisan Issue

Whether or not planting trees is a good thing is not a partisan issue, Pannell said, noting that there have been bipartisan bills introduced to increase the number of trees. The difference, though, is that the Inflation Reduction Act will spend hundreds of millions more than Republicans have been willing to support. 

The Trillion Trees Act, a 2020 bill sponsored by Sens. Mike Braun, a Republican from Indiana, and Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, would have provided $10 million for a USDA program that supports providing seeds and saplings for planting. 

Meanwhile, the 2021 Urban Forests Act proposed by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a New York Republican, would have spent $50 million over five years for the creation, enhancement and upkeep of urban forests.

In addition to the environmental benefits, Clegg argued that trees bring “social and emotional benefits” to those living in urban areas.

“You have birds in the trees. In a concrete jungle, it’s good to have a bit of nature,” she said.

‘Will Save Lives’

A particular focus for cities is to undo the stark inequities in which some neighborhoods are heavily shaded and others are exposed to sweltering heat.

An American Forests study last year found that neighborhoods where the majority of residents are people of color have a third less tree canopy coverage than in other communities. 

In addition, neighborhoods where the majority of people are living in poverty have 25% less tree canopy compared to other areas.

“There are life and death consequences,” Pannell said. “The people who are affected by the lack of trees are also those who have the worst health care and are unable to afford to run their air conditioners all day,” said Pannell, whose group created a tree equity scorecard for 150,000 neighborhoods in 486 urban municipalities around the country.

In Washington, D.C., for instance, Anacostia is a lower-income neighborhood where 58% of residents live in poverty. Only 12% of the area is covered by tree canopies, according to the group. 

In wealthier Georgetown, where only 18% live in poverty, 52% of the area is shaded by trees.

The city, however, has been making progress, said Brenda Richardson, a community activist in the Anacostia area, who has among other things organized a memory tree program funded in part by the Casey Trees, in which people are given trees to plant in memory of relatives killed by gun violence.

One family, she recalled, celebrated the birthday of a deceased loved one by tying balloons to their tree on his birthday.

Richardson said an aerial photograph she saw five years ago showed much of the city covered by green. But “there was a hole” where her community is, she said.

Some parts of the city “are engulfed by shade,” she said. “[Anacostia is] getting to that.” 

Everett Lott, director of Washington, D.C.’s transportation department, which runs the city’s tree program, noted in a statement that most requests the department gets for trees come from areas away from low-income neighborhoods. But the city has been emphasizing putting more trees in areas like Anacostia the past five years. 

The department “ is very excited for the opportunities this increased funding will provide us,” he said of the additional federal funding.

Lora Martens, Phoenix’s Urban Tree Program manager, also expressed excitement noting in a statement to Route Fifty, that her community “is the hottest large city in the United States.

“Our goal is to significantly increase tree canopy citywide,” Martens said. In addition to creating the “Cool Corridors,” she said the city will be focusing on neighborhoods with few trees and where people stand in the sun, like bus stops.

The federal funding “will significantly help us improve on-the-ground conditions for our most vulnerable Phoenicians, by funding tree plantings, and other related programs, in the neighborhoods that need them the most,” she said. 

“This federal investment in green infrastructure will save lives in the city of Phoenix and around the country,” she said.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.