Cool Corridors Action Guide Step One:
Heat and Mobility

This section describes the role cool corridors can play to protect against heat-related illnesses and support public transit, micro-mobility and “complete streets” initiatives.

Heat and Mobility

Extreme heat makes it harder for people to get around — especially in lower-income neighborhoods where they depend on walking, cycling or transit to get where they need to go.  

Aerial view of Chicago

Cool Corridors are shady, vegetation-rich pathways that enable people to move from where they are to where they want to be – whether it’s school, work, transit station, church or just to shop. Some are routed through sidewalks; others take advantage of park-like spaces. They can be designed solely for pedestrian use and/or small people-powered bikes and scooters.

Extreme heat is a serious threat to human health

In 2023, deaths from heat illnesses reached historic highs. Arizona suffered the most, followed by Texas. Even northern states — where people aren’t accustomed to living with heat — recorded unusually high death rates during earlier heat waves in 2021 (Pacific Northwest), 1998 (Philadelphia) and 1995 (Chicago).

Investments in nature pay off

Medillin’s multi-million dollar investment in nature paid off for its residents. Their work has been recognized as exemplary by the UN Environment Program, the C40 Cities network of mayors and the World Economic Forum.

Bicyclist in Cool Corridor
Medillin's initial investment involved planting 120,000 plants and 12,500 trees in 30 cool corridors. Planting continues with annual maintenance costs exceeding $625,000.
These kinds of initiatives promise citywide returns in productivity, income security, health and well-being. Not investing in nature harms productivity, public health and efforts to combat climate change.

Where's the shade

A cool corridors strategy can stand on its own. But most often, it’s part of a larger commitment to achieving tree and health equity amongst all neighborhoods. Identifying places where investment is needed constitutes the first step in that initiative. For an example, check out the recently adopted Shade Phoenix: An Action Plan for Trees and Built Shade.

You can build it

Anybody who’s walked down a city street in summer quickly realizes that trees aren’t the only sources of shade. There are many others: buildings, shelters even street furniture designed to block harsh sunlight.

To find, enhance or build cool corridors you have to measure how much shade already exists — neighborhood by neighborhood.

And you can measure it

UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation worked with American Forests to broaden the scope of its Tree Equity Score platform. Now as many as 300+ communities can measure shade from buildings and shade from trees.

Tree Equity Score Logo
It's free. And it covers more than 200,000 places in the US.

As the day goes on, the sun moves and so does shade. The new shade map provides a visual guide to neighborhood shade levels at three times during the day. And it calculates roughly how much shade is provided by trees, and how much by buildings.

This level of detail can support a comprehensive strategy — like in Phoenix — to cool streets using both natural and constructed solutions.

Learn more about the new shade maps
Using the shade function in your community's Tree Equity Score

Walking and biking

Low income Americans have the highest rates of walking and bicycling to work, and bicycling is growing most rapidly among people of color. Most transit riders are low to moderate income, and more than 60 percent walk to or from transit. The safety and convenience of walking and bicycling — active transportation — is vitally important for low-income people and people of color.
Read the report from the Safe Routes to School National Partnership: At the Intersection of Active Transportation and Equity
Children crossing the street on their way to school.

Getting kids to school

Many families prefer their children walk to school. In lower income neighborhoods that’s difficult during periods of extreme heat.
Explore the growing body of research: Walking, Biking, and Rolling to School: Trends, Issues and Evidence.

Transit

Low-income residents and immigrants are among the most frequent users of public transit. In Austin TX, for example, those who take public transportation to work have the lowest median earnings of all workers. More than a quarter of these individuals have no vehicle available.
To achieve equity, planners should strive to create transportation networks that make it easier and more comfortable for pedestrians and people-powered transportation – instead of designing primarily for automobiles.
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Related Resources

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Tree Equity Funding Action Guide
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