A new project will bring some much-needed shade to Dallas’ Medical District, which has been deemed one of the city’s hottest areas.
The greening project is a collaboration between the Texas Trees Foundation and the Southwestern Medical District. It stemmed from the Dallas Urban Heat Island Study. The urban streetscape project will transform Harry Hines Boulevard by significantly increasing the landscaping along the path of what has been dubbed the “Green Spine.”
The study found that only 7% of the district has green spaces. According to the Dallas Culture Map, expected improvements will bring this percentage up to 37%.
“The Southwestern Medical District Board, in partnership with the Texas Trees Foundation and our stakeholders, is transforming the streetscape of Harry Hines into a green, healthy, connected, and safe linear parkway with a central park,” Southwestern Medical District (SWMD) Board of Directors chair David Biegler said. “Completion of this project will have an impact on every medical professional, student, patient, and visitor in this critically important Medical District.”
The City of Dallas, Dallas County, and the North Central Texas Council of Governments, along with private foundations and donors, have raised a combined $28.9 million to pay for the multi-year project, which is set to begin in late 2025.
The National Library of Medicine published a study in 2012 that found that high ambient heat can significantly impact children’s health, particularly those suffering from respiratory illness and allergies such as eczema. The greening project aims to reduce the complications high ambient heat in the SWMD area can have on patients, students, and employees. The district employs 42,000 people and sees 3.4 million patients between its three medical facilities.