CINCINNATI — Some city leaders want to plant hundreds of new trees at schools, recreation centers and public housing projects in Cincinnati’s hottest, and often poorest, neighborhoods this fall.
“We are seeing some disparities between neighborhoods that are more residential in character and have a lot of trees, and neighborhoods with an industrial history where there are less trees and that’s often where our poorer residents reside,” said Councilman Jeff Cramerding. “Areas where there are a lot of factories, a lot of asphalt, it all produces heat.”
Cramerding and Councilwoman Meeka Owens introduced a motion at City Council this week to expand where the city’s urban forestry department is allowed to plant trees. Currently the city only plants trees on the thin slice of land located between a sidewalk and a street.
As Cincinnati leaders prepare for climate-change-induced hotter temperatures in the coming years, and summers that feel more like Arkansas than Ohio by 2030, mapping temperatures is becoming increasingly important. So is trying to improve conditions in urban heat islands with more bus shelters, cooling stations and trees.
“The (tree planting) program began in the 1970s … but now the right of way has been largely planted,” said Cramerding, who believes state law is flexible enough to allow the city to plant trees on other public land. His motion asks the city solicitor to research the issue, using the city of Toledo as a model, and report back in 60 days.
Cramerding wants to partner with Cincinnati Public Schools, the city’s recreation commission and the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority to plant trees on empty public land in neighborhoods that lack trees and shade.
“Avondale, Bond Hill and all along the Mill Creek corridor are critical areas where we need more trees,” Cramerding said.
Other sparse areas are Queensgate, Winton Hills and Winton Terrace, South Cumminsville and North Fairmont.
“On a hot sunny day if you’re under a tree in a cool breeze it’s much cooler than if you’re in a parking lot surrounded by parking lots,” said city sustainability manager Ollie Kroner. “When we mapped where we have elevated temperatures around the city, we see a 10-to 12-degree difference from one community to another. Maybe that’s not a big deal if you have air conditioning at your house, but a third of Cincinnatians don’t.”
In August 2020, a team of volunteer street scientists drove and biked around the city taking temperatures at points along the way. It was part of a study funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to determine which neighborhoods were the hottest.
These urban heat islands align with highways and stretch through the Mill Creek corridor to the downtown urban basin where there are more factories, development and asphalt, but fewer trees.
“Trees not only reduce heat islands, but they’re also aesthetically pleasing and lead to healthier neighborhoods where people feel better and enjoy being outside,” Cramerding said. “Being an equitable city means that all citizens have the same amenities – that means trees, parks, and recreation centers that are the same in every neighborhood.
Funding for city tree planting comes from a .31 cent assessment that property owners pay per foot of land that that faces the street. So Cramerding's motion will not increase taxes, just expand the flexibility of where trees can be planted.
Cramerding expects a report back from the law department in a few weeks and with expected passage by City Council later this summer or early fall.
“I would hope to see hundreds of trees planted this fall on these new parcels,” Cramerding said.
