In Colombia, 30 green corridors have been created by planting roads and waterways: the plants have allowed a reduction in temperatures of 2 ° C
Plant trees to cope with global warming: the solution is simple, does not require huge investments and has proven effective in reduce the temperature in the city.
In Colombia in fact, in Medellin, they were created 30 Green corridors planting urban areas that lacked green areas.
Several sites in the city have therefore seen rise tree-lined avenues, parks and gardens along roads and waterways and the Green Corridors have allowed one temperature reduction of 2 degrees centigrade, with peaks of up to three degrees in some neighborhoods.
Being able to bring down the thermometer in a city where temperatures continue to rise, creating inconvenience to 4 million citizens was one of the main objectives of the project launched in Medellin, since decreasing the temperature reduces the use of air conditioners, appliances that consume a lot of energy, helping to further increase greenhouse gas emissions and to heat the environment even more.
Have cooler cities however, it is not the only benefit given by green corridors. The trees in fact they have aesthetically redeveloped the neighborhoods where they were planted, as well as clean the air from pollutants in the busiest streets and ad provide shade for pedestrians and cyclists. Over time, green spaces may also increase reduce crime in the areas most affected by social hardship.
Awarded at the Ashden Awards 2019 in the Cooling by Nature section, i Colombian green corridors they are an example of the intelligent urban design it provides human well-being and benefits for biodiversity and which fortunately is spreading to many cities around the world.
Since 30% of the global population is now exposed to very high summer temperatures and every year 12 thousand people die in the world due to excessive heat, projects to cope with heat waves are growing, especially in big cities.
Milan for example points to cover the roofs of the city with green planting an area of 13 million square meters per counteract the rise in temperatures and pollution.
Also in Milan in 2018, the ForestaMi program was launched, an urban forestry plan conceived by the Politecnico di Milano with the aim of plant 3 million trees by 2030, one for each inhabitant of the city. To date, however, the plants planted are only 16 thousand, since each hectare of vegetation costs the Milanese municipality one million euros.
However, administrations should question themselves about long-term costs resulting from global warming: people's well-being and health is priceless and the environment must also be protected to ensure our survival.
Read also:
- Ethiopia, millions and millions of trees planted in 12 hours to save the planet
- Against smog, Australia plants over 1 billion trees. The Po Valley should imitate!
- Cities need to think of trees as a public health infrastructure
Tatiana Maselli
