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BaumEntscheid Munich Citizen's Initiative
By signing, I am requesting that a referendum be held on the following question in accordance with Article 18a of the Bavarian Municipal Code:
Are you in favor of the City of Munich (LH München) continuously and as a matter of construction policy priority pursuing the three goals below for the expansion and optimization of trees on municipal streets in order to improve the urban environment and quality of life in the long term, by:
- producing a binding action plan for this within one year of the adoption of the citizen's initiative or the successful holding of a referendum, and
- implementing these measures by 2040, if necessary also through structural adjustments to municipal streets?
Goals
Comprehensive Network of Street Trees
The LH München is to have a street tree network on municipal streets that, once the trees are fully grown, achieves a canopy cover of at least 30% across the entire municipal street space. The street tree network shall consist of vital, climate-resilient trees whose long-term preservation is ensured through active care measures to maintain their vitality.
Greening and Cooling of Particularly Burdened Heat Districts
The LH München shall define areas particularly burdened by heat as 'heat districts' (Hitzequartiere), which are to be the top priority for action and where the street tree network is to be expanded as a priority. The basis for determining the heat districts shall be the city climate analysis (Stadtklimaanalyse) of the LH München as well as additional evaluation criteria – in particular population density and an above-average proportion of vulnerable population groups (0 to 4-year-olds and over 65-year-olds), as well as the proportion of municipal streets with very low tree canopy cover of less than 10%.
Creation of New Tree Locations
Sufficient new tree locations for the municipal street tree network (see Goal 1) are to be identified and planning-secured by 2035. For the heat districts, the planning of new tree locations is to be completed by 2030. In the process, areas for pedestrian and bicycle traffic as well as public transport shall generally remain untouched. Areas for new tree locations are to be considered as comprehensively as possible in the planning and implementation of street and infrastructure measures – such as the restoration of the street space and the new or relocation of utility lines – and are to be combined with these, for example in the context of sustainable heat supply. Where planting street trees is not possible, equivalent blue-green infrastructure measures are to be implemented within a 150 m radius.
Justification:
Munich is getting hotter and hotter in summer. Residents mostly seek cooling where trees provide shade, e.g., on the banks of the Isar. However, everyday routes 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 productivity, and prevents social participation.
In our view, the City of Munich's previous measures are not sufficient to adequately protect the citizens of Munich from the increasing heat burden.
Therefore, the three goals above—namely a comprehensive street tree network on municipal streets, the identification and prioritized greening of particularly burdened heat districts, and the creation of new tree locations for a precautionary climate adaptation strategy—should be implemented. In our view, these are good for the development of the City of Munich because:
- they safeguard the quality of life and residence through shade and protect the health of the population through cooling,
- early and systematic action preserves existing trees and creates enough new tree locations in time to achieve sufficient cooling performance,
- street trees are permanently effective and cost-efficient climate adaptation measures that make our neighborhoods more livable.