Shade trees can dramatically lower temperatures on residential streets. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The Los Angeles City Council voted on Nov. 5 to join ShadeLA, a program led by USC and UCLA to add more trees and shade to the city.

Councilwomen Katy Yaroslavsky, 5th District, and Nithya Raman, 4th District, authored the motion to join Shade LA, which seeks to reduce temperatures and improve quality of life in Los Angeles. The city joins the county of Los Angeles, LA28 and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority as partners in the effort.

“ShadeLA brings together the city, county, UCLA Luskin Center and USC Dornsife Public Exchange to increase both natural and built shade using trees, canopies and modular structures. The motion directs city departments to improve coordination, streamline permitting, and better tracking of shade and cooling projects across Los Angeles,” Yaroslavsky said. “Extreme heat is the deadliest climate threat facing Angelenos. This partnership helps Los Angeles lead on heat resilience and prepare for upcoming global events like the 2026 World Cup, 2027 Super Bowl and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

Yaroslavsky’s spokesman Leo Daube said the plan will involve planting more trees and potentially adding free-standing decorative shade structures to provide cooling in public open spaces. He noted that studies have found that streets with a shade canopy can be up to 40 degrees cooler during the hottest months compared to streets without any shade.

The motion calls on the Bureau of Street Services, Bureau of Engineering, Department of City Planning, Department of Recreation and Parks, Department of Transportation and Emergency Management Department to designate liaisons to participate in ShadeLA coordination efforts. They will identify relevant programs, resources and related data for ShadeLA to create an open-source dashboard to track shade and cooling infrastructure across the city. It also asks the Bureau of Engineering to report in 60 days on existing processes and recommendations for creating more shade across the city. The plan may eventually include expedited permitting for modular shade structures, shade sails and temporary canopies.

Cindy Chvatal-Keane, president of the Hancock Park Homeowners Association, said she supports programs that will add shade wherever possible in Los Angeles. The homeowners association recently formed a nonprofit to help maintain trees along streets in Hancock Park and is invested in building the city’s canopy.

“It’s important, the hotter the planet gets,” Chvatal-Keane added. “We have to take care of the trees, maintain them and replace them when necessary. When a tree falls or has to be taken out, we replace it.”

For information on ShadeLA, visit shade-la.com.