Case Study: St. Paul's Big Bet On "Tree Equity"

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Trees do many things for people who live in cities. They provide cool shade on hot summer days. They absorb carbon dioxide and other air pollutants. They soak up stormwater. And they raise property values. Yet in cities across the United States, a troubling trend holds true: On average, communities of color have one-third less tree canopy than majority-white areas, according to the nonprofit American Forests. In Saint Paul, Minn., there’s an additional challenge: An invasive insect called the Emerald Ash Borer is gradually eating many of the city’s trees from the inside out.

Tens of thousands of ash trees lining city streets are steadily losing limbs and toppling over in storms. For years, city leaders tried scraping funds out of the annual budget to cut down dead trees, remove stumps, and plant new trees—but that only seemed to make inequities worse. It was residents of affluent areas who usually advocated the loudest to have new trees planted nearby.

In 2022, Saint Paul leaders turned to an unlikely place for a fix: the municipal bond market. They issued their first-ever “sustainability bond,” raising $18 million to fund a more proactive and comprehensive citywide tree program—one that will, overtime, reduce disparities in tree cover. Download and read the full case study here.