In many areas of US cities around the country, ground temperatures cause the city to have elevate heat levels due to concrete/asphalt absorbing the heat from the sun. There should be an initiative to plant more trees and plants to assist with cooling down our cities and towns through evapotranspiration, which is when plants release water from their leaves, absorb heat from the environment, and lowers the surrounding temperature. Just think about it. What has been a cooler experience: walking on a sidewalk in the summer with trees providing shade or walking on the sidewalk in the summer on hot asphalt? This could be done in several forms depending on the city, town, village:
- Planting of trees along sidewalks for main streets and side streets.
- Adding gardens/trees/plants to the roofs of buildings
- Building public parks on unused parking lots and shopping centers
- Allow ivy and other plants to be grown on the sides of buildings, as well as providing maintenance to prevent overgrowth
- Introduce climate specific plants and trees to best fit the particular area of the country.
- Allow for the expansion of front lawn gardens in residential neighborhood
This seems like a necessity in places throughout the country as temperatures continue to world year after year, and could certainly benefit southern areas like Texas now in the short term.