A new study by the University of Washington-Tacoma argues that one of the reasons why minority communities in inner cities experience hot temperatures in the summer is because of systemic racism. Assistant Professor of Urban Ecology Christopher Schell and the co-authors of the study concluded that systemic racism in city planning leads to fewer trees being planted in low-income neighborhoods and, consequently, higher temperatures. Wealthier “urban residential neighborhoods generally have greater vegetation cover, canopy cover, and plant diversity,” reads the paper, titled “The ecological and evolutionary consequences of systemic racism in urban environments.” “The geographic distribution of urban heat islands...