Changing the color of L.A. streets and growing out the urban canopy are part of a campaign to fight the heat island in and around Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is undergoing a proactive campaign to fight the effects of a warming planet but trying to mitigate or reverse the effects of its urban heat island. Among the city’s strategies for doing so is the use of white street sealant so that the street will hold less heat. "This is what the city of Los Angeles is calling 'cool pavement'—whitening blocks in each of LA’s 15 council districts to see how changing the color of streets can bring down the overall temperature," Nate Berg reports in Gizmodo.
The city also encourages property owners to plant more trees on their land to create shade, "They hold more than 100 tree adoption events a year, and gave away nearly 18,000 trees in 2016 alone. Though street trees can play a part in cooling the city, Skrzat says there’s much more potential in the front and back yards of L.A.'s low density residential areas," Berg writes. Changing the colors of streets, roofs and maintaining more trees are all part of "Sustainable City pLAn," which includes a goal drop the city's heat differential by 3 degrees.
FULL STORY: The Radical Plan to Cool Down LA as the World Heats Up
Preserving Altadena’s Trees: A Community Effort to Save a Fire-Damaged Landscape
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena Green is working to preserve fire-damaged but recoverable trees, advocating for better assessment processes, educating homeowners, and protecting the community’s urban canopy from unnecessary removal.
LA’s Trees Absorb More Carbon Than Expected, But Can’t Do It Alone
A USC study finds that Los Angeles’ urban trees absorb more carbon than expected, but while they provide crucial environmental benefits, they cannot replace the urgent need for systemic emissions reductions.
Rethinking Fire-Resistant Landscaping: Which Trees Should We Plant?
Fire experts emphasize the need to replace highly flammable trees like Mexican fan palms and eucalyptus with fire-resistant species such as oak, sycamore, and toyon, while also strengthening home fire defenses to reduce wildfire risks in California.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research