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https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/...rks-board.html

Houston Endowment donates $8M to local organizations to improve parks, fight heat islands

Houston Endowment is boosting its efforts when it comes to reducing Houston’s “urban heat islands” — a term used to describe strips of concrete and cement with no trees in sight — with $8 million in funding to two local partners.

The investment will be split into $4 million grants that will be given over two years. One will go to Trees For Houston and the other to Houston Parks Board. The overarching goal is to put more Houstonians within walking distance of quality parks and to increase the tree canopy in areas where urban heat island effects are most pronounced, Bao-Long Chu, Houston Endowment’s program director for arts and park, said in an interview.

“[The funding is] an amount that we believe will supercharge [the organizations’] work,” Chu said. “We felt this amount would allow these two organizations to focus on areas that have the biggest challenges with access to green space, quality parks and tree canopies. Both of these entities have a proven record of increasing park access and green space equity.”

Houston ranks No. 4 out of 159 U.S. cities with the most intense urban heat islands, Chu said, citing a Climate Central report. This effect contributes to wild swings in temperatures in different parts of the city, so more tree canopies are needed to combat it, he said.