Cool Corridors Action Guide Step Three:
Select Target Neighborhoods

Because the need will always outstrip resources, this section describes how to set priorities for your investment in cool corridors.

Select Target Neighborhoods

Residents of vulnerable neighborhoods are less likely to own a vehicle and more likely to use transit to get to work. Whether walking or riding a bicycle, excess heat matters. Cool corridors can make the trip easier – whether you’re going to work, school or out to shop. But strategies might differ, depending on how people move around in a particular neighborhood.
People getting on to bus.

Where available, low-income residents and immigrants are among the most likely to use public transit. Significant numbers ride bikes or walk to work, school or shops.

You can find statistics — and much more — for your community in the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) or from your community’s transportation agency.

Many city transit agencies compile deep sets of data — to monitor their programs and assess future transportation and mobility needs.

Depending on your budget, you can turn to information collected by transportation consultants, like StreetLight Data, which aggregate and analyze “big” data.

The Philadelphia story

There is a 22-degree difference between the hottest and the coolest places in Philly.

That’s why Philadelphia was one of 16 US cities funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct an on-the-ground assessment of ambient temperature differences among all Philadelphia neighborhoods. The resulting story map describes how trained volunteers can gather information critical to designing cool corridors.

The Philadelphia Story
Heat mapping by volunteers using portable monitors.
When community members monitor progress themselves, they become more invested in the outcome and more likely to remain committed stewards and advocates. Photo from Bronx NY courtesy of CAPA Strategies.

The Phoenix Model

Phoenix’s new Shade Plan takes buildings and street-level structures into account when measuring shade. This comprehensive approach helps target initiatives to neighborhoods where residents are most at risk from heat-related illnesses.

Phoenix Shade Plan

Measure Total Shade

Nationwide, American Forests Tree Equity Scores show that the lowest income neighborhoods in cities have 26 percent less tree canopy than wealthier neighborhoods – and on average are 7 degrees hotter. 

Development patterns also influence shade coverage in low-income neighborhoods. High population density in low-rise buildings add to the shade deficit that triggers heat illnesses and death.

How do you map shade?
Tree Equity Score Logo
It's free. And it covers more than 200,000 places in the US.

Visit American Forests’ Tree Equity Score site to learn which neighborhoods in your community have more burdensome shade deficits than others in your city.

Tree Equity Score now calculates shade from buildings

Trees feel the heat too

Long, hot summer days plague trees just as it does people. Due to their fixed locations, you can’t take them indoors. But you can take steps to prevent extreme heat from disrupting their growth and health.

Learn more: Heat Stress in Urban Trees by Julianne Schieffer

In the future

Several organizations and agencies have projected the impact of continuing climate change on future extreme heat events:

As extreme temperatures become more prevalent, there will be limited commuting options because walking and biking could be dangerous.
Groups already disproportionately dependent on public transit will become more so. That’s why cities must account for accessibility, especially for their most vulnerable populations.
Read the study

Many cities worldwide have begun to create cool corridors in their cities — often focusing on their most heat-vulnerable populations. Their problems and the solutions they’ve developed can serve as a starting point for your own plans.

Guides for beating extreme heat

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix city and Maricopa County governments have developed and applied novel shade measurement techniques to gauge the extent and impact of extreme heat. 

Learn more

Medillin, Columbia

Already, ambient temperatures have been slashed by 2-3 degrees C in some of the city’s high-poverty neighborhoods. Micro-mobility options have increased and more key sites are pedestrian accessible.
Learn more

Edmonton, Alberta

The Edmonton plan illustrates how the benefits of cool corridors extend beyond the built environment into natural areas as well.
Learn more

New York, New York

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation — working with the nonprofit New York Restoration Project — completed one of the earliest and most successful tree planting initiatives in the US. The City has added tree canopy over the past decade.
Learn more
Tags

Related Resources

  • Guides

Tree Equity Funding Action Guide
Resource Library