Create more pocket parks

Urban planners and architects refer to these little parks as pocket parks, and they are created by converting vacant or abandoned urban assets into parks. Athens, Greece, experienced a housing boom following World War II, replacing separate homes with nearby vegetation with row upon row of apartment buildings. Beginning in the late 1990s, Athens started working on programs to turn small vacant lots, mews, and alleyways into pocket parks. Additionally, roads built for cars have been transformed into green spaces with pathways lining them for both walkers and cars. The city is kept cooler and the air quality is enhanced by the increased flora.

Other communities have recognized the benefits of pocket parks, including how they improve quality of life by providing easy ways to relieve urban stress. Numerous similar tiny parks exist in Chicago, and more are planned. Small pocket parks totaling about 3.5 acres have been constructed all across Mexico City, including in abandoned spaces under bridges and overpasses. Paris is renowned for its large boulevards and green areas, but as part of long-term urban planning, it has also implemented pocket parks.

Although pocket parks alone cannot address UHIs, they can and do help to lessen the urban core's capacity to retain heat. They also provide brief moments of calm and relaxation without having to leave the city. Urban planners are being influenced by its use in efforts to improve both quality of life and less heat-retentive urban centers. They are a powerful instrument against UHIs, whether in a big, global city or a little community.