Minneapolis parks part of national study on the cooling effects of forests in cities

"Cooling Cities: Harnessing Natural Areas to Combat Urban Heat" analyzed temperatures from forested natural areas in 12 U.S. cities in 2022.

Where do you go to beat the heat? Many are instinctively drawn to the shade of a tree – or even better, a forest. But with some 80 percent of the U.S. population now living in urban areas, it’s worth asking: How much cooler are forests in cities?

Data from three Minneapolis parks – Minnehaha Regional Park, North Mississippi Regional Park and Theodore Wirth Regional Park – is part of a new national study that answers that question.

Released last month, Cooling Cities: Harnessing Natural Areas to Combat Urban Heat reports on temperatures gathered at 40 sites in 12 U.S. cities during summer 2022. It found that over 90 percent of the forest sites had cooler air temperatures.

The Natural Areas Conservancy produced the study in partnership with research collaborators from 27 nonprofits, municipal and county governments, academic institutions and private contractors around the U.S., including the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB).

“We’re excited about the Cooling Cities study, because it compounds the value of natural areas in cities,” said Jeremy Barrick, MPRB’s Assistant Superintendent for Environmental Stewardship. “We know that natural areas in the Minneapolis park system are already vital for the local environment, for wildlife, and the mental and physical health of residents, but now it’s demonstrated scientifically.”

Key Findings

By providing significant data on urban forested areas, Cooling Cities is an important first step in broadening understanding about the role of forested natural areas in urbanized environments. The study focused on variations in surface and air temperatures at three types of sites in each city: both “healthy” and “degraded” forests in natural areas, along with landscaped areas with trees, such as streets or parks.

On some hot days, it recorded a difference of 10 degrees Fahrenheit between a forested natural area and a streetscape with trees just a few hundred feet away. It also found that quality of a forested natural area matters. All plants have cooling powers, but healthy forested areas – those with higher rates of canopy cover, vegetation layers and native species – typically performed better than forests lacking those characteristics.

Finally, the Cooling Cities highlights the potential of forests embedded in urban areas, which comprise some 90,000 acres in the 12 cities studied. These places are important to consider in the work to address urban heat islands and mitigate the effects of climate change in cities, which are home to about 80 percent of the U.S. population.

What can you do?

Get involved. Learn about and sign up for volunteer stewardship or other opportunities to maintain and improve MPRB natural areas.

Visit natural areas, enjoy them and share with friends! Minneapolis’ renowned park system is rich with natural areas: forests and savannahs, wetlands, and even the only true gorge on the entire Mississippi River! Learn more and make plans to explore using the new storymap at minneapolisparks.org/managed-natural-areas.