Some like it hot? Unequal provision of tree shading in Australian subtropical suburbs

Abstract

This pilot study, set in Brisbane, Australia, provides answers to the following research questions: (1) Is there inter- or intra-suburb inequality in street tree provision, in particular along routes that lead to public transport stops? (2) Are further investments in street trees justifiable on heatwave harm reduction alone? The pilot targets three suburbs away from the urban core, which have different socio-economic levels. The ‘number of street trees per kilometre’ is used as a foundational measure and a labour-intensive (but quite granular and accurate) data collection method is adopted. Our findings point toward inequality in the provision of street trees, especially in the lower income suburb. In the two wealthier suburbs too, street trees are not regarded as a pedestrian transport infrastructure asset. At the same time, our threshold analysis shows that street tree planting is justifiable on heatwave harm reduction alone. In the future, a study of all Brisbane streets would provide more conclusive answers.