How America's hottest city is trying to cool down

Vox
Vox
  • last year
Can trees help save Phoenix from extreme heat?
Transcript
00:02I’m looking at a map of surface temperatures
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undefined:undefinedwherever you go in the world, but for this
00:34story, I went... there.
00:36"An excessive heat warning is in effect."
00:39"Warmer is the new normal in Phoenix."
00:41"The city's grappling with an increase in
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undefined:undefinedFahrenheit.
01:02That's 44 degrees Celsius.
01:04But in reality, some areas can feel warmer
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undefined:undefinedmet up with Eva Olivas.
01:23She's a local community advocate and Phoenix
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The average income level for a family of four:undefinedis about $19,000.
01:42OLIVAS: The vehicle ownership rate is between 23-28%
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We have the railroad tracks on the north.:undefined
We have the airport on the east.:undefined
So we're like a little pocket.:undefined
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A lot of concrete:undefinedhere.
02:13A lot of our streets, as you can see, don't
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undefined:undefinedsummers are hot.
02:29But it also seems like this entire city was
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undefined:undefined4 parking spots for every car in Phoenix.
02:52The sun just beams into all that pavement.
02:54And it doesn't just roast anyone who happens
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undefined:undefinedof the dark roof is hotter than the white ones.
03:20And the city has also tried painting some
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undefined:undefinedmap of heat to this map of poverty.
03:41And studies have confirmed that the cooling
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undefined:undefinedArizona State University.
04:15For those who are used to humid summers, it
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undefined:undefinedlevel of canopy cover by 2030.
04:36And I love the idea of recruiting an army of trees
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Well:undefinedneighborhood in front of someone’s home,
05:07they would have to maintain.
05:09OLIVAS: The city does not maintain them
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undefined:undefinedair conditioning bill.
05:26But it sounds like that doesn’t really solve
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undefined:undefinedfamily, in their home.
05:45Are there no programs here that are
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undefined:undefinedcity’s new tree equity plans.
06:07But she also hoped for some more basic things:
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undefined:undefinedwho are least prepared to withstand them.