Rooted in Resistance - Building a Greener Miami

Future Vision Studios is proud to share that our founder, Aaron DeMayo, was recently featured in Impact Edition’s article, “Rooted in Resistance: Miami Plants Trees to Counter Rising Heat”.

The article highlights the growing urgency around Miami’s urban canopy — not as a luxury, but as essential infrastructure for a livable city. Trees cool streets, protect public health, and create more resilient neighborhoods. Yet, as the story points out, protecting and expanding the canopy requires more than good intentions. It demands better systems.

As Aaron shared, Miami’s current Tree Ordinance can be complicated and time-consuming, which sometimes leads landowners and builders, whether intentionally or not, to bypass the process and accept fines instead. But, as he points out:

The article challenges us to rethink the framework itself. If the rules we've written aren’t producing the outcomes we need, we have the power and responsibility to change them.

Instead of rigid categories and penalties, the future calls for a policy approach that mimics nature: adaptive, nuanced, and collaborative. Resilience will depend on partnerships across sectors — academics, environmental groups, arborists, sustainable developers, and residents working together like an ecosystem, not in isolation.

The article reminds us that a stronger urban forest isn't just about adding trees. It's about reshaping the systems around them, so that what we plant today has the space, support, and staying power to thrive for generations.

We’re grateful to Impact Edition for capturing these conversations and proud to be part of the collective effort to build a healthier, greener Miami.

Read the full article here.