Rio City Hall launches program to plant 200,000 plants in the streets; to understand

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The public authorities do not have recent data on how the inhabitants of Rio feel about their skin: there are more trees in the streets of upscale neighborhoods than on the roads of the outskirts. The last survey dates from 2015 and is included in the urban afforestation master plan of the Fundação Parques e Jardins. The study highlights the existence of one million trees, a figure similar to the deficit indicated in 2023 by the Brazilian Society of Urban Arborization.

To try to alleviate the problem, the municipality launched the Planta+Rio project this week. The idea is to count on the support of the population who, thanks to the 1746 service, will be able to indicate where there is a need for new plantations. An additional 200,000 plants are expected to be on the streets by 2028.

“The North zone will benefit greatly, because it is the region that most needs to plant trees, especially neighborhoods like Ramos, Olaria and Bonsucesso – said Vice Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere, participating in the planting of the first tree of the project in Felisberto Freire Street, in Ramos, last Thursday.

While walking around the city, it is possible to observe the difference shown in Pedro’s video in other areas as well. While in the same Copacabana, streets like Santa Clara have a large number of trees that form from one end to the other a huge green corridor, in streets like Rua Sargento Pinto de Oliveira, in Ramos, what we see is exactly the opposite.

Professor Andrew Lucena, from the Integrated Laboratory of Applied Physical Geography (Liga), at the Federal Rural University of Rio, classified the northern area as the city’s “thermal cauldron”, due to the scarcity of trees. He names Irajá, Penha, Vila da Penha, Olaria, Bonsucesso, Manguinhos and Costa Barros as the places most devoid of greenery and, therefore, the hottest. At the other end, with more tree-lined streets, are Jardim Botânico, Gávea, São Conrado, Ipanema, Leblon and Leme, as well as the cool Copacabana.

— Even if actions by the town hall take place, the northern zone is entirely paved or cemented, with a few rare exceptions. Thus, it continues to present higher temperatures, associated with low areas of biomass, that is to say forests or trees that could mitigate them — underlines Andrew Lucena.

The professor is part of a team that prepares heat maps in the city’s 1,200 favelas, and those of Complexo Alemão are already at the top of the ranking. At the other extreme are Rocinha, Vidigal and Chácara do Céu, all located in the southern zone, with a milder climate due to the presence of green spaces. It also affirms that, in the West and Southwest zones, some areas of Campo Grande, Santa Cruz, Guaratiba and Barra de Guaratiba, despite horizontal growth, still have areas with a lot of greenery, which helps reduce the temperature.

Professor Nubia Beray Armond, from the UFRJ’s Laboratory of Studies and Research in Geography and Climate, explains that green spaces play an important role in reducing temperature, both by providing shade through their canopies and by removing water from the ground which, in a process of evaporation, can also alleviate the sensation of heat in the environment.

— Afforestation and green spaces play a fundamental role in reducing temperatures and promoting better thermal comfort conditions in cities, she explains.

A laboratory study, carried out during the summer of 2023, revealed that in Madureira, in a section between the market and the BRT station, a temperature difference of almost 12°C was noted throughout the day compared to that recorded in Alto da Boa Vista. Another work from the same center shows that significant vegetation contributes to a temperature reduction of between 40 and 60%.