Resilience & Urban Shade Equity
“Shade: It’s a civic resource, an index of inequality, and a requirement for public health. Shade should be a mandate for urban designers.” - Sam Bloch
You may have walked past them 100 times without noticing, but the street trees you pass every day are actually “green infrastructure” that make your neighborhood a more healthy, beautiful place to live. You can quantify exactly how those trees are supporting you with this iTree tool. So the next time you walk by, say “thanks.”
Trees:
Reduce energy use, preventing CO2 emissions through direct shading (buildings) and lowering ambient summer temperatures by shading pavement/concrete; they also slow winter wind velocity
Provide mental and physiological health benefits including cognition and attention restoration esp. during COVID-19
Provide habitat for birds, insects and nourish soil life
Absorb atmospheric carbon, storing it in roots, trunk, and limbs
What is Urban Forestry? It is the planting, maintenance, care, and protection of all trees in a city by volunteers and professionals to optimize the benefits listed above for all. In early 2022, Yale hosted a terrific speaker series with current research on climate resiliency & equity.
Ideally, every neighborhood would have plenty of life-giving shade trees, but it became tragically evident that this is not the case when 60 Portland neighbors passed away during the June 2021 heat dome event. These deaths occurred in neighborhoods 25 degrees hotter than those with adequate shade. Several Portland-based community organizations have formed the Shade Equity Coalition to help remedy disparities in street tree canopy. Each voice and every action is needed to help prepare our city for a changing climate. Explore Shade Tree Equity Scores.
Portland’s older neighborhoods have ample space to grow large shade trees.
Portland’s Tree Programs
Advocates are hoping for a more integrated approach to green infrastructure with a new form of government coming to Portland in 2025.
A Bike Portland interview with Matt Glazewski describes how Portland's current form of government is an obstacle to collaborative action on climate preparedness and mitigation.
OPB explored how inter-bureau personnel dynamics impair Portland’s ability to reach canopy goals, July 2022.
Columbia Slough Watershed Council 2021 two-part series on
Portland tree planting programsJoint introductory overview of urban green infrastructure in Portland by BES staffer Jennifer Karps and a PPR Urban Forester Jenn Cairo in 2020. Listen to the audio here [1:20] and follow along with the slides [start at #29].
November 2021 webinar with Dr. Vivek Shandas exploring segregation policies that created the shade & heat disparities experienced today across Portland
Resources:
Comedy Central’s take on a 2020 research paper illustrating the correlation of historic redlined neighborhoods, tree canopy and heat disparities in 108 cities. NPR story on Cleveland’s effort to re-tree
Tools to improve shade equity:
In order to achieve tree equity, U.S. cities must plant 552 million trees. Portland listed as one of 20 cities that stand to gain the most by improving shade tree equity.
Every tree has a story. Share the ones you know at the Canopy Story mapping project.
What you can do:
Support Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF). Portland leaders heard our demands to take action on tree inequity and deadly urban heat islands. In fall 2022, Council approved $40M in PCEF funds to expand tree canopy in priority neighborhoods through the Equitable Tree Canopy Project. And mid-2024, Council approved $65M to begin maintaining publicly-owned street trees. Track PCEF developments, share your ideas and feedback.
FFC advocated hard to increase space for street trees in Portland’s 2022 Pedestrian Design Guidelines and the first planting in the curb zone pilot broke ground summer 2024!
Offer 3 min. public comment at the start of an upcoming Urban Forestry Commission meeting; watch recordings of recent meetings to learn about current topics.
When you hear of someone looking for pruning help, please share these recommendations from Portland Urban Forestry. A chainsaw in the wrong hands can cause a lot of harm.
Help neighbors provide summertime water to young trees for the first three years. Help elderly neighbors rake their leaves in the fall.
Start or help care for a school arboretum with Portland Parks; FFC parents worked with administrators, teachers, and students to make a big difference at Scott School in 2024!
Engage with a local tree advocacy group. Here are some in Portland:
Friends of Trees - Join family-friendly planting events every weekend November-April
The Blueprint Foundation - Workforce development
Trees for Life Oregon - Join a mailing list to receive alerts about opportunities to speak up to preserve large trees and plan space for new ones.
Urban Greenspaces Institute - Explore policy resources
Depave - Help remove concrete to make way for trees & native habitat
Appreciate neighbors who care for trees, big & small.
