A paper led by Ian Smith (Earth & Environment) showed that given a constrained budget, a strategy that combines addition of cool roofs and new trees is optimal for reducing vulnerability weighted excess heat exposure in Boston. The study quantifies the changes in tree canopy coverage and cool roof solutions in Boston that would maximize heat exposure reduction under feasibility and cost constraints. This research provides actionable, integrated climate solutions. If the budget-constrained strategy was implemented, they estimate it would provide cooling benefits for nearly 80,000 Boston residents.
Lead author Ian Smith speaks with WBUR here. The original paper includes co-authors Dan Li, Greg Wellenius, Lucy Hutyra and David Fork (Google), and is published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment.