Table 1.

Conceptual typology of practical green design interventions and their associated climate and health co-benefits and metrics.

Design Intervention	Anticipated Climate and Health Co-Benefits	Green Conditions Metrics
1. View from within	Visual biophilic experiences Wildlife habitat and biodiversity Stormwater mitigation	% population who can see green on a daily basis from within buildings
2. Plant entrances	Social gathering space Orientation/navigation Shade provisioning/cooling Building energy savings (depending on aspect)	# trees/shrubs flanking a building entrance % vegetation cover around building/site entrance # buildings per block with ‘green’ entrances
3. Bring nature nearby	Social gathering space Shade provisioning/cooling Wildlife habitat provision and biodiversity Stormwater mitigation	Horizontal and vertical distance (or time) to reach closest green space Available green space per capita (green space density) % of population who see green on a daily basis Level of community ownership and decision-making power Diversity metric
4. Retain the mature	Air filtration Visual biophilic experiences Social gathering space Shade provisioning/cooling Stormwater mitigation Building energy savings Carbon storage and sequestration Wildlife habitat provision and biodiversity	Naturalness (# native species, canopy stratification) Species richness and evenness Size (e.g., DBH, height) diversity Perceived safety and condition Presence of heritage tree
5. Generate diversity	Visual biophilic experiences Wildlife habitat provision and biodiversity	Diversity index of tree species Diversity index of planted space types
6. Create refuge	Social gathering space for cohesion and enhanced social capital Shade provisioning Air filtration Wildlife habitat and biodiversity	# people who can experience cool refuge at once % canopy cover in a given site at high noon during periods of expected heat Level of “shelter” provided by vegetation (stand density) % population within 400 m of a cool refuge spot of X size.
7. Connect the canopy	Visual biophilic experiences Shade provisioning/cooling Wildlife habitat provision and biodiversity (e.g., ecological corridors) Stormwater mitigation	# active transportation (e.g., walking/biking) around green space Presence and # of physical barriers to green space (can also be the reverse, so the presence and # of paths leading to green space) Colorfulness, and arrangement (# tree-lined walks)
8. Optimize green infrastructure	Urban Heat Island mitigation Carbon storage and sequestration Stormwater mitigation Wildlife habitat provision and biodiversity	% cover Canopy volume Leaf area index (LAI) Area of green space