{"id":60142154,"date":"2026-07-14T18:09:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T17:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?post_type=photo_story&p=60142154"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:10:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T17:10:17","slug":"brasilia-residents-forced-to-grow-their-own-heat-solutions","status":"publish","type":"photo_story","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/brasilia-residents-forced-to-grow-their-own-heat-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Bras\u00edlia residents forced to grow their own heat solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bras\u00edlia was designed to be a green city. Tree planting was so central to planning for the Brazilian capital that it was described as a park city<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is evident in the prime central area of Plano Piloto, with its cool, tree-lined avenues, and green parks where the locals enjoy walks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a CATCH story<\/p>

This story is part of Dialogue Earth\u2019s work on the Community Adaptations to City Heat (CATCH) project, in partnership with Boston University. The project is funded by Wellcome. All Dialogue Earth content is editorially independent.Read more stories from CATCH.<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The city was built in just 41 months, replacing the savannah called the Cerrado with a gleaming new capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But 30 kilometres away from Plano Piloto, in Sol Nascente, one of the country\u2019s largest<\/a> favelas<\/em> (informal settlements) has appeared. Here, concrete rather than greenery has replaced the Cerrado. In Plano Piloto, the amount of green space per inhabitant averages out to 138 m2, according to a University of Bras\u00edlia (UnB) study<\/a> of urban green spaces published in 2025. But in some peripheral areas of Bras\u00edlia including Sol Nascente, that figure is approximately 6 m2 \u2013 23 times less. These outlying areas are characterised by \u201climited vegetation and greater distances to green spaces\u201d, writes the study\u2019s author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sol Nascente consists of mostly tarmac-surfaced streets, with houses crammed on top of one another and narrow pavements that can barely accommodate pedestrians, let alone trees. Heat is a huge problem. \u201cThere are times when the whole street is in the sun and the air doesn\u2019t circulate,\u201d says Sol Nascente resident Francisco Silva, talking beside his home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Man<\/div>
One of the country\u2019s largest favelas, Sol Nascente is characterised by tarmacked streets with almost no trees in sight (Image: Fabio Pozzebom<\/a> \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Woman<\/div>
By comparison, the area of Plano Piloto in the centre of the capital, Bras\u00edlia, features green parks and streets lined with trees (Image: Fabio Pozzebom<\/a> \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Man<\/div>
Sol Nascente resident Francisco Silva had to break up the concrete at the front of his property to plant the only tree on his street, a native ip\u00ea (Image: Fabio Pozzebom<\/a> \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The health impacts can be severe for residents. \u201cEverything gets very dry, and my nose bleeds,\u201d says the 34-year-old. Silva suffers from rhinitis and bronchitis that disrupt his sleep. \u201cIf I close the window, I can\u2019t breathe; if I open it, dry wind and dust come in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the dry season, he washes the yard every day, spreads wet towels around the house and wears a dust mask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To beat the heat, Silva is renovating. Concrete will make way for grass and saplings. On the pavement in front of his property, he has broken up the concrete and planted the only tree on the street \u2013 a solitary ip\u00ea, a common species in Latin America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dialogue Earth consulted Valdir Steinke<\/a>, who authored the 2025 public green spaces study and is a landscapes and water management expert at the University of Bras\u00edlia. He says the Federal District (DF; the region that contains Bras\u00edlia) reflects a national pattern of \u201cgreen spaces concentrated in the most affluent areas, whilst the outskirts have almost none\u201d. Indeed, the average per capita household income in Plano Piloto is 12 times higher<\/a> than in Sol Nascente. \u201cIt is a stark and unvarnished portrait of a model of socio-economic segregation in which urban planning in the outskirts ignores nature,\u201d says Steinke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n