Trees as Infrastructure: Building Cooler, Healthier Communities in Hawaiʻi

Hawaiʻi has taken an important step toward a cooler, healthier future with the passage of SCR 129, a resolution affirming support for expanding tree canopy coverage and installing shade trees in urban areas to reduce the impacts of urban heat islands across the state. 

Urban heat islands are felt most intensely in places like Honolulu, Kahului, and parts of the leeward coasts, where dense development, dark pavement, and limited vegetation trap heat during the day and retain it at night. These conditions increase the risk of heat stress, especially for kūpuna, keiki, outdoor workers, and households without access to air conditioning. Expanding urban tree canopy is a proven, cost-effective way to cool neighborhoods, improve health, and build climate resilience.

From a public health perspective, shade trees do more than make a place look greener; they make it more livable. Shaded, tree-lined streets and parks encourage people to walk, bike, and play outside by making those spaces more comfortable and safer. People are more likely to choose active transportation when routes to school, work, or transit are pleasant and shaded.

The Oʻahu HEAL Coalition recognizes shade tree planting as part of creating built environments that support active living and community well-being. By advocating for safer, cooler, and more walkable neighborhoods, and that access to shade is, at its core, a public health issue.

This aligns directly with the Hawaiʻi Physical Activity and Nutrition Plan 2030, which calls for policy, systems, and environmental changes that support active living. One of the plan’s goals is to increase low-stress pedestrian infrastructure, including sidewalks and trails, and shade tree planting is an identified strategy to help achieve that goal. In other words, trees are part of the infrastructure, the kind that enables physical activity in everyday life.

Turning that commitment into action means supporting local tree-planting initiatives, protecting existing canopy, and prioritizing shade in neighborhoods that experience the greatest heat. Community members, schools, nonprofits, and policymakers all have a role to play in creating cooler, more walkable communities across Hawai‘i.

Those interested in supporting healthier, walkable communities are encouraged to get involved with the Oʻahu HEAL Coalition. To learn more about coalition efforts and advocacy opportunities, contact Oʻahu HEAL Coordinator Leigh Ann Lopez at leighann@hiphi.org.