Passage:
Urban greening programs often cite temperature reductions as their headline achievement, but a multi-city meta-analysis warns against treating canopy cover as a universal proxy for cooling. After controlling for baseline albedo, building density, and proximity to water, the authors found that the strongest cooling occurred where trees formed contiguous shade over high-heat surfaces such as asphalt corridors. By contrast, neighborhoods with dispersed canopy patches sometimes showed minimal net cooling because reflective gains from shade were offset by heat stored in adjacent dark roofs and parking expanses. The authors caution that increasing total canopy percentage without altering surface composition can yield impressive aerial imagery but modest thermal relief at street level.
Question: Which conclusion is most strongly supported by the passage?
Select one option.
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