In the early 1600s, the Tokugawa shogunate set up a system of highways from the provinces to Edo, its capital. These roads had cedar trees planted on each side to provide shade for travelers. What wisdom. On a hot summer day, it immediately feels degrees cooler in the shade of trees.
A hot highway is
cooler under trees:
wisdom of Tokugawa
Photo: Felice Beato, 1865 via Wikimedia Commons
Today, for air-conditioned metal boxes on wheels, trees are obstacles to visibility and speed. For pedestrians and cyclists, however, leafy canopies bring a cool even beyond the Tokugawa planning: not only giving respite from the sun, but preventing asphalt from collecting and reflecting heat.
Wisdom prevails here and there.
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