b'Michael Barnes says green space helps alleviate urban heat island effects.PHOTO: BARNES. cities are reclaiming green spaces. Unlike community gar- Creative Greening dens, urban farms, or street trees on their own, these areas areWhile parks and roadsides can be reclaimed as urban green designed to mimic natural ecosystems, which maximizes theirspace, cities must continue to find intentional and widespread ecological benefits while also feeding people.opportunities for more green space, especially as urban popula-Food forests are an amazing way to engage the communitytions expand. and deal with food deserts and inequitable access to fresh food,Van den Boom suggests starting with parking lots, which can while increasing habitat and mitigating heat and other climatebe paved with places for grass using seed mixtures that can grow issues. A neighborhood of Tucson has had a food forest for 30and germinate in areas that are a mixture of 50% grass and stone. years. Its as much as 38 degrees cooler there in the shade onNot a lot of people have a lot of knowledge about grass, van hot days than other areas of the city, Colangelo says. den Boom says. We have grass species with roots that grow one meter into the ground and others that grow only 5 cm. When you Problematic Policies know the soil and other conditions youre working with, you can To combat droughts and water shortages, many cities have cre- choose the right grass.ated programs incentivizing turfgrass removal. However, theseOther creative solutions include developing purple, red, or policies run counter to recent research. other colored turf grasses, opening the possibility for natural You lose a lot of benefits, Tate says. Heating and AC bills goseparations for airports, roadsides and athletic applications. up. Water infiltration and erosion increase.Architects, urban planners and seed suppliers must start look-Perhaps more alarming is the urban heat island effect.ing outside traditional turf applications.We know that greenspace helps to alleviate urban heatLiving walls and green roots are part of the future of green island effects, so the question remains of what impact turfspace, Kowalewski says, and slow growing plants are critical in removal programs will have on urban heat, Barnes says.those applications as well. Its a question that could reshape government programs andIf green (or purple, red and other colors) take over more urban lead to significant environmental impacts, especially if researchspace, cities may slowly start to see the temperature gauge drop continues to support seed solutions that thrive in extreme urbanback down, even slightly.conditions. Plants are amazing things. We want to find ways to use more If we had some more data about the potential implicationsof them, Tate says. Every little bit adds up. Any greenspace you on urban heat, we might steer individuals towards the adoptionhave the ability to maintain is worth adding.SWof lower input varieties compared to outright removal, Barnes says.DECEMBER 2023SEEDWORLD.COM /77'