Overview:

Summary: Trees provide cooling through evapotranspiration and shading that decreases temperatures along walkways. Increasing vegetation provides numerous co-benefits like reducing pollution, improving the public realm, and decreasing energy costs. The cost of planting and ongoing maintenance of trees can be a barrier. Providing incentives can encourage private property owners and businesses to plant trees.

Implementation: Encourage tree planting and protection through incentives such as stormwater fee reductions, tax credits, tax increment financing for property values, or grant programs.

Considerations for Use: Plantings require ongoing maintenance with associated costs and staffing.

• Policy Levers: The mechanism municipalities can use to actualize the intervention. These policy levers will likely be used in combination with each other.
  
  
  IncentiveFinancial and non-financial incentives to encourage stakeholders to implement heat risk reduction and preparedness solutions, including rebates, tax credits, expedited permitting, development/zoning bonuses, and more.
• Trigger Points: Opportunities for municipalities to implement risk reduction and preparedness interventions based on the policy lever, building on the United Nations Environment Programme triggers used in the Beating the Heat handbook (2021).
  
  
  City planning processesIncludes city initiatives such as the development of climate action plan, pathway to zero-energy, master plan, transit plan, energy mapping etc.
• Intervention Type:
  Green/natural Infrastructure
• Sectors:
  Informal Settlements, Parks, Public Works

Impact:

• Target Beneficiaries:
  Heat-vulnerable communities, Property owners, Residents
• Phase of Impact:
  Risk reduction and mitigation
• Metrics:
  Change in urban canopy, Number of trees planted

Case Studies:

• Sacramento, CA (Kresge, Pg 58)

Implementation:

• Intervention Scale:
  City, District, Neighborhood, Site
• Authority and Governance:
  City government
• Implementation Timeline:
  Medium-term (3-9 Years)
• Implementation Stakeholders:
  City government
• Funding Sources:
  Public investment
• Capacity to Act:
  High, Medium

Benefits:

• Cost-Benefit:
  Medium
• Public Good:
  High
• GHG Reduction:
  Medium
• Co-benefits (Climate/Environmental):
  Improve stormwater management, Preserve biodiversity, Provide flood protection, Reduce air and water pollution, Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Co-benefits (Social):
  Build social cohesion, Improve human health, Improve the public realm, Increase property values