Cities around the world are planting more trees to cope with rising urban heat. But our research shows trees alone are often not enough. In some cases, the wrong kind of greening can even make streets feel less comfortable on a hot day.
We compared field measurements from Melbourne, Munich and Hong Kong to test how different kinds of urban planting changed the heat people experience outdoors.
The results showed layered vegetation—where trees are combined with shrubs and ground cover—often cooled cities more effectively than trees alone. We also found local climate and street design strongly shaped whether greening worked well.
These findings matter because urban greening is no longer just about aesthetics. As cities spend billions adapting to extreme heat, planting design may matter as much as planting quantity.
Cities are getting hotter
