Learn About Phoenix's Urban Forest

Phoenix City parks and street landscapes are home to a veritable forest in the city that adds millions of dollars worth of benefits to quality of life by improving air quality, storm water management, energy savings, shade and aesthetics.

Urban Tree Planting:
Benefits outweigh costs to Phoenix

Arizona State University and the forestry team have worked together to illustrate the importance of Urban Tree Planting and to share their findings that both the financial, environmental, and social benefits of planting the right trees in the urban environment will greatly outweigh the cost of the tree planting and maintenance.

Growing a Healthier, more Livable and Prosperous Phoenix

Parks and Recreation Department staff also have led the City's Tree and Shade Task Force, a multi-department team mapping an aggressive strategy to improve the city's tree and shade canopy, a crucial element in keeping the city livable in the decades to come.

Shade Phoenix Plan

The Shade Phoenix Plan outlines the actions the City and its partners will take over the next five years to accelerate the creation and enhance the maintenance of shade in Phoenix. The vision of the Shade Phoenix Plan is that all community members experience the benefits of trees and built shade throughout the city. Actions in the plan prioritize places in Phoenix where people are outside the most and populations most vulnerable to extreme heat In the hottest large city in the country, shade is critical infrastructure and a community resource. Extreme heat presents a significant risk to the public health of Phoenicians. The Shade Phoenix Plan is an update to and expansion of the City’s 2010 Tree and Shade Master Plan and outlines the actions the City and its partners will take over the next five years to accelerate the creation and enhance the maintenance of shade in Phoenix. These actions explicitly focus on the city’s most vulnerable residents and the places where people are outside the most. The plan will help us achieve our overarching vision to create a future where all community members and visitors to Phoenix experience the benefits of trees and built shade throughout the city. Shade Phoenix is a data-driven plan, leveraging detailed analysis of citywide tree and shade data across City-owned, public, and private properties. At the census tract scale, tree canopy cover varies from 2% to 30%. The median census tract has 11% tree canopy. The plan includes findings from the City’s first shade analysis, which estimates the combined impact of shade from both built and natural sources. The Plan includes 36 actions across four strategy areas, addressing 11 strategic priorities. Collectively, these actions represent more than $60 million in allocated funding over the next five years and will result in more than 27,000 new trees and 550 new shade structures. This represents an almost doubling of the number of trees planted annually by the City of Phoenix. More than 50% of the total investment will be made in low-to moderate-income communities and 85% will be made in low-moderate-and middle-income communities.

Read the Shade Phoenix Plan

What's the most common tree type in City parks and along City streets?

The Mesquite, Prosopis velutina accounts for 8.8 percent of the trees in those areas. Blue Palo Verde, Parkinsonia florida ranks second at 6.8 percent. Below is a listing of other common trees found in the Phoenix area: