The initiative follows on from the 2025 Statewide Temperature Mapping campaign, in which residents, associations, parent associations and senior centers took part in simultaneous measurements across 150 areas in 43 municipalities and 24 provincial capitals. That experience compared the so-called "hells"—spaces with hard, poorly permeable ground and no trees—with "paradises"—tree-lined areas with natural soil. The result was an average difference of 1.5 degrees, although in some locations it reached 5.3 degrees. In addition, torrid nights, with temperatures above 25 degrees, were more concentrated in areas without vegetation.
ECO-MAPPING
The aim now is to focus directly on urban trees. During the Ecomapping initiative, participants will be able to use a website and their phone’s location to identify empty tree pits, stumps or dead trees, and the so-called "choking tree pits": those covered with permeable concrete, almost completely occupied by the trunk, or where the tree stands outside or on the edge of the space intended for it. The initiative has a precedent in Córdoba, where a similar action identified 2,400 empty tree pits in a single morning. The campaign is also backed by organizations including the State Confederation of Neighborhood Associations, the Alliance for the Climate, Greenpeace and Oxfam Intermón.
The issue of urban trees has taken on particular prominence this year in Zaragoza and Huesca, where protests against the felling of urban trees have accompanied various projects. The organizations warn that renovations of streets, squares and avenues can lead to the disappearance of mature specimens that will take decades to replace, while also raising concerns about improper pruning and violations of municipal tree-protection ordinances. More than 250 municipalities and 300 associations had already joined the mapping initiative in August. People wishing to participate in Aragón can register until September 13; afterward, the Alliance for the Climate Emergency in Aragón will contact those registered to explain the initiative’s instructions.
