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BaumEntscheid Munich Citizen Initiative
Do you agree that the City of Munich should continuously and as a bau-political priority pursue the following three goals for the expansion and optimization of community street trees in Munich, in order to improve urban environmental and life quality in the long term, by
- creating a binding action plan for this within one year after the acceptance of the citizen initiative or successful conduct of a citizen's decision, and
- implementing these measures by 2040, if necessary through structural adjustments to community streets?
Goals
Comprehensive Street Tree Network
The City of Munich has a street tree network on community streets that, in the mature state of the trees, achieves a tree canopy cover of at least 30% in the entire community street space. The street tree network consists of vital, climate-resilient trees whose long-term survival is ensured through active maintenance measures to increase their vitality.
Greening and Cooling of Particularly Burdened Heat Districts
The city defines areas particularly burdened by heat as "heat districts." The basis is small-scale data collected and evaluated at the neighborhood level, including the city climate analysis of the City of Munich, as well as supplementary evaluation criteria - in particular population density and an above-average proportion of vulnerable population groups (0-3-year-olds and those over 80). In heat districts, the street tree network is prioritized for expansion; for community streets with very low tree canopy cover of less than 10%, there is the highest priority for action.
Creation of New Tree Locations
Sufficient new tree locations for the community street tree network (see Goal 1) are to be identified within the first year after the acceptance of the citizen's decision, planologically determined, and permanently secured. Areas for foot and cycle traffic as well as public transport should usually remain unaffected. Areas for new tree locations are to be as comprehensively considered and connected as possible in the planning and implementation of street and infrastructure measures, e.g., in the new or relocation of line routes, for example in the context of sustainable heat supply. Where planting of street trees is not possible, equivalent measures of green-blue infrastructure are to be implemented within the respective heat district (see Goal 2) or within a radius of 150m.
Justification:
Munich is becoming hotter in summer. Munich residents mostly seek cooling where trees provide shade, e.g., at the Isar. However, daily paths often lead through bare streets that heat up intensely during the day and hardly cool down at night. Whether young or old – heat endangers health and sleep, paralyzes economic performance, and prevents social participation.
In our view, previous measures by the City of Munich are not sufficient to adequately protect Munich residents from the increasing heat burden.
Therefore, the three goals listed above, namely a comprehensive street tree network on community streets, the identification and prioritized greening of particularly burdened heat districts, and the creation of new tree locations for a preventive climate adaptation strategy, are to be implemented. In our view, these are good for the development of Munich because:
they secure arrival and life quality through shadowing and protect your health through cooling,
early and systematic acting maintains existing trees and creates enough new tree locations in time to achieve enough cooling performance,
street trees are permanently effective and cost-efficient climate adaptation measures that make your neighborhood more liveable.