Description:
Presenters: Laura Jackson, Ph.D., Sustainable & Healthy Communities Research Program, U.S. EPA; Dave Nowak, Ph.D., i-Tree Team Leader, U.S. Forest Service
This two-part presentation will provide us with information from current research on how trees can be used to mitigate the effects of urban heat islands. First, Dr. Nowak will discuss the importance of trees in mitigating heat islands and results from various studies related to trees and heat islands. He will also discuss how tree effects on air temperature are being incorporated in the i-Tree modeling suite. Next, Dr. Jackson will share fine-scale maps of heat islands and vegetated "cool" areas from the EPA's work on EnviroAtlas. She will also discuss case studies in Durham, NC and Portland, OR where EPA helped target street tree plantings to reduce urban heat islands in low-income neighborhoods.