urban heat islands

The heat doesn’t knock anymore — it barges in. It fills your lungs like smoke, presses against your chest like regret. It sits on porches in poor neighborhoods where the AC never worked or was too expensive to run.

The cool green path of tree-lined Commonwealth Avenue cuts through Boston’s Back Bay. In the city’s southwest areas, tree-filled streets keep temperatures in neighborhoods like West Roxbury, Roslindale and Jamaica Plain low, providing relief and respite for residents. Compare that to low-tree areas in minority neighborhoods like Mattapan, Hyde Park, Roxbury and Dorchester.