Tashkent has become the first city in Central Asia and the CIS where mass mapping services offer navigation that considers shade. The pilot "green" routes in Yandex Maps allow users to choose pedestrian paths with more shaded areas. For a city where summer temperatures often rise above 35–40 °C, such a feature can significantly change the usual approach to navigation: the most convenient route is not necessarily the shortest.
The algorithm analyzes satellite images and uses machine learning to determine vegetation cover along streets. A section is considered green if trees cover at least 60% of its length. When building a route, the distribution of shade, the duration of exposure to direct sunlight, and the air temperature on a specific day and time are also taken into account. Thus, the map effectively assesses not only the distance and travel time, but also the climatic comfort of the walk.
Similar technologies are being developed in other countries — from the USA to Germany and South Korea — forming a new direction of climate-adaptive navigation. For Tashkent, this is particularly relevant given its hot climate and the need to develop comfortable pedestrian infrastructure. However, the digital map does not replace greening efforts but merely helps to more effectively utilize existing shade. In the future, data on popular cool routes could also be useful to city authorities — for example, to identify areas where new trees, canopies, and green corridors are especially needed.