Building A Tree Canopy
Urban tree canopies offer several benefits, including improved air quality, reduced urban heat and enhanced mental health. So the City of San Antonio has established an Urban Forestry division of the Parks and Recreation Department to help make the city greener.
The division spearheads the Tree Adoption Program, which distributes thousands of trees every year at city events, and the CommuniTree Program, where they are strategically planting trees in neighborhoods more susceptible to urban heat.
Volunteers distribute free trees to San Antonio residents during Earth Day at Woodlawn Park.
The CommuniTree program gives residents in the hottest neighborhoods the option to have the City plant a tree on their property free-of-charge.
RJ Lee, assistant professor in urban and regional planning, has partnered with the city to evaluate participation in the program and create recommended strategies to increase future participation by residents.
Christian Rivas and Olvin Maldonado, qualified arborists for Burkett Arbor Care, plant a tree, free of charge, for a San Antonio resident.
Shade is Art, Art is Shade
The city’s Department of Arts & Culture is spearheading the “Shade is Art, Art is Shade” initiative, where it is using the data from the heat index map to add public shade structures that double as community art installations.
The City of San Antonio expressed the possibility of incorporating public art into new bus stops around the city. In 2024, VIA Metropolitan Transit was awarded $1 million from the city’s Resiliency, Energy Efficiency, and Sustainability Program to add more shaded bus stops, using the data from the heat index map.
WATCH: Public art helps keep residents cool.
Cooling Roadways
In 2023, the city added a water-based asphalt treatment called “cool pavement” to 10 small stretches of roadways across the city. Partnering with researchers at UTSA for two separate projects, this Cool Pavement Pilot Program evaluated whether the effort would be effective for a citywide application. With two years of data and positive results, the city manager allocated $5.8 million for additional investments for cool pavement.
WATCH: City of San Antonio crews install cool pavement across the city districts.
OTHER STORIES IN SERIES:
A group of UT San Antonio researchers led a study to determine which areas of San Antonio are most vulnerable to extreme heat.
Researchers from UT San Antonio are turning to AI models and digital twin technology to strengthen resiliency to urban heat in San Antonio’s Historic Westside community.
Two research projects from UT San Antonio explore how effective cool pavement is for mitigating heat.
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