In Phoenix, an ambitious plan aims to cover 25% of the metropolis with tree shade

Sign indicates the temperature in Phoenix on a June day. (Matt York / Associated Press)

This Southwest capital presents a distinctive postcard: brutal heat, desert peaks, sprawling subdivisions and endless asphalt.

Richard Adkins wants to add another image: trees.


"I've heard most of the jokes and I can deal with them – 'Phoenix, really, you have trees? I thought you had cacti,'" said Adkins, the city's forestry supervisor. "But we do have trees here."

There may be many more in the years to come.



That can mean "engineered" shade, like the small steel "trees" rising out of planters on some corners downtown, or larger structures like those in Civic Space Park or at many of the city's newer transit centers. It will also mean more real trees – whether natives, like mesquite and palo brea, or non-natives that have proven resilient in a particularly challenging setting.


"Not very messy at all, very low maintenance, but very high yielding as far as benefits," Adkins said of the pistache, which is native to China. "Great thick shade, good for air quality because it has a very thick crown and can intercept a lot of particulate matter. It has a good root system that's not too shallow, so I don't have a lot problems right now with buckling sidewalks or destroying infrastructure. And it's one of the only trees that's going to give you nice red fall color. In Phoenix, we don't have  have a lot of fall color — we don't have a lot of fall, period."

He added, as if for the sake of full disclosure, "The leaves do drop once a year."

Homebuilder in Phoenix endures triple-digit heat.
Homebuilder in Phoenix endures triple-digit heat. (Matt York / AP)

But then it was right back to the benefits: "Aesthetically, it's quite pleasing. It can bring commerce to any business that had it out front because, you know, people are drawn to nice vegetation and shade."



"We went from being a palm-pruning, tree-pruning maintenance crew to where now we're actually managing the entire urban forest and trying to move forward with shade percentages, increased canopy coverage and managing it more appropriately," he said.



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"There's a lot of pushback – 'You plant more trees, well, we're going to have to use more water,'" Adkins said. "That's where it gets into species choice and water management. Even today, most people over-water everything. But is water a consideration? Of course? Do I feel we have ways of watering and harvesting rainfall with green infrastructure to help provide for our street trees? Absolutely. Do I think we need to give up trees for water? No."




"Twenty-five percent, that's very ambitious," Adkins said. "But you've got to have a number to shoot for. That's what gets people behind you and moving forward."