The article by José Figueiredo Santos addresses how many modern cities were built without considering the thermal comfort of their inhabitants. The author proposes a simple test to evaluate a city's intelligence: go out on the street at three in the afternoon on a summer day and see how many people are sitting. If there is nobody, the city was probably designed to be admired and photographed, but not to be lived in. A smart city is one where any person can simply stop, rest in the shade, and chat with strangers.
The author describes his experience in Granada during a heat wave of 42 degrees, where he observed that just ten meters of tree shade were enough to completely transform the urban experience. Under the trees, people sat, talked, and waited, while the city continued to function. In contrast, he criticizes the Portuguese tendency to remove trees to open views, pave squares until they are impeccable but inhospitable, and replace soil and canopies with concrete and parking. In the Algarve, this contradiction is particularly evident, given that traditional architecture always knew how to combat heat through narrow streets, courtyards, and shade.
The article emphasizes that trees in cities are not merely decorative objects, but promises of future life. A felled tree takes with it a small community of birds, the smell of damp earth, the place where someone waited for the bus, and the territory where a child discovered green. The author warns that heat kills and that more trees can significantly reduce urban temperature, but that these numbers need to be translated into the language of the street. He argues that a bench in the shade may be enough for an elderly person to leave home instead of remaining isolated.
Finally, the author acknowledges that planting trees is politically difficult because they take time to grow and provide shade, they do not provide inauguration ceremonies or photographs for newspapers, and they do not grow at the pace of a political term. He contrasts public works, which say "see what we did," with trees, which say "see what will come after us." He appeals to politicians with the stature of statesmen, to urban planners who understand that a city does not end at the drawn plan, and to citizens who demand shade not as comfort, but as an elementary right to inhabit the place where they live.
