Colombia’s second largest city has found an innovative way to use nature to cool down, resulting in impressive results and intriguing possibilities.
As Reasons to be Cheerful details, Medellín launched a $16.3 million Green Corridors program in 2016 to plant thousands of diverse trees and plants along roads and waterways to combat the heat island effect caused by recent urban sprawl. As a result, the city’s temperature dropped by 2°C (3.6°F) within the first three years of the program, with further declines expected, the news outlet reports.
These corridors mimic natural forests in their carbon absorption capacity. According to Reasons to be Cheerful, one corridor is the equivalent of taking roughly 500 cars off the road. With fewer greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and cooler temperatures, there’s less need for air conditioning, lowering energy consumption.
“It’s like urban acupuncture,” said Paula Zapata, a C40 urban adviser in Medellin. “The city is making these small interventions that together have a big impact.”
Getting outside and connecting with nature is good for the body, mind and soul, and studies have shown that older adults who live near green spaces experience the effects of aging more slowly than those who live in dense urban areas.
Cleaner air has also significantly reduced Medellín’s rates of respiratory infections, a major problem that many urban communities suffer from due to poor urban planning.
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News media reported that the project has resulted in more people taking up cycling, which not only helps keep the air cleaner and cooler, but also has many health benefits, including stronger heart and lung muscles, improved blood circulation, and reduced stress.
Like Medellín, other urban areas around the world are finding innovative ways to improve their local environments, and researchers in Singapore have found that the use of “cool paint coatings” can make pedestrians feel significantly cooler.
Many Medellín residents praise the city government’s vision and innovation, as the Green Corridor project has employed 150 community gardeners from disadvantaged backgrounds, given them expert training in maintaining green spaces, and given them the opportunity to improve their neighborhoods.
“This gives me an opportunity to improve myself,” said Wilmer Jesus, one of the city’s farmers.
“It’s really improved the quality of life here,” says Victoria Pérez, a gardener from Medellín.
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