MORE TREES FOR CITY STREETS
Summers in many cities are getting hotter, and streets without trees are becoming unpleasant places. Concrete and stone soak up heat during the day and give it off again at night, so the air stays warm long after sunset. This is bad for residents' health, especially for elderly people and small children. It also raises electricity bills, since air conditioners have to work harder. So planners now want to bring more trees into urban areas.(lines 1–5)
There are several ways to do this. Some cities, for example, plant a tree in front of every new building, while others replace parking spaces with small green areas. "Such plans have been successful in many places, but at first they often face strong opposition," says sociologist Rachel Dunn. "Residents worry that roots will crack the sidewalks and that falling leaves will block the drains. Shop owners object too, because they fear that customers who cannot find a parking space nearby will simply go and shop somewhere else."(lines 6–11)
In the end, though, most people come to appreciate the trees. "On a hot afternoon, a row of trees can make a street several degrees cooler, and walking there becomes far more pleasant," explains Tom Alvarez, who is in charge of the trees in a large Australian city. "We have planted thousands of them over the past ten years. Before work began on each street, we sent every household a short video. It showed what the trees would bring: shade for children on their way to school, cleaner air and more birds. Today, residents often call us to ask for even more trees on their streets."(lines 12–18)
Some cities let residents try out the trees first. Instead of digging holes in the ground, they put young trees in large wooden boxes along the street for a few months, and only later decide whether to plant them for good. "This is an excellent method," says Alvarez. "It gives people a chance to see the change with their own eyes before they agree to it. On one street in our city, residents lived with trees in boxes for six months. At first, most of them were against the idea. By the end, nearly all of them asked to keep the trees."(lines 19–24)
According to Alvarez, planners often change their plans once they have listened to residents' opinions. "Sometimes we choose a different kind of tree, and sometimes we move the trees to the other side of the road," he says. "But we have never had to take a whole street of trees away. People simply grow fond of them."(lines 25–28)