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Phoenix broke several heat records last year. Now Grant Park, which has inequitable tree cover, is seeing a tree planting drive that promises some respite from 100F temperatures
It was a relatively cool spring day in Phoenix, Arizona, as a tree planting crew dug large holes in one of the desert city’s hottest and least shaded neighborhoods.
Still, it was sweaty backbreaking work as they carefully positioned, watered and staked a 10-ft tall Blue palo verde and Chilean mesquite in opposite corners of resident Ana Cordoba’s dusty unshaded backyard.
“If I ever retire, I’d like to be able to spend more time outside. The weather is changing, so I am really happy to get these trees. We need more shade,” said Cordoba, 75, a legal secretary, whose family has lived in Grant Park for more than a century.
Over the course of three days in early April, arborists planted 40 or so desert adapted trees in Grant Park, as part of the city’s equity-driven heat mitigation plan to create a shadier, more livable environment amid rising temperatures and hundreds of heat related deaths.
Should Phoenix be greenified? It’s in the middle of a desert. Maybe people should just be encouraged to relocate. In my pipe dream, the poor would even be subsidized to do so.
Ideally you don’t have this where way too many people live in a place that can’t support them. That said, even if the population goes way down to a healthier level I don’t think it’s bad to plant desert appropriate trees.
What even are desert appropriate trees? I remember a few years ago i was watching some guy making a skateboarding video in either phoenix or las vegas, he was walking around looking for spots and stuff. The place looked like an actual nightmare. It was all concrete blocks, roads and buildings. Like he talked about how hot it was abd that there is no shade at this time of the day. Like i was never in a desert or desert city, i live next to a forest. I was actually wondering how long he would have to drive to find like 3 trees. It gave me the weirdest anxiety and i can’t even imagine living there.
I’m not an expert but my understanding is desert trees are adapted to be tougher, retain moisture longer and flower/leaf based on rain patterns vs strictly following the season. Googling will bring up a bunch of results, here’s one.
Phoenix used to have a ton of trees, but the problem was they had planted varieties that were inappropriate for the climate. From this page I see the city has a plan to have 25% tree cover by 2030. You can also see some old time pictures of all their trees.
The trees they are using don’t require too much water and thrive in the dry, arid year round temperature. If anything, this is a good experiment to see how well a space can be greenfield with minimal water use, since the area is going through a minor water crisis in its suburbs. Overall, it’s a good thing to learn from. It sucks to be on the frontline of hard lessons but Phoenix will overcome.
Will it? The Anasazi culture, partially based in Arizona, collapsed when water got too scarce. Trees are not the only thing that need water.