I've lived in the Las Vegas area my entire life. I'm so glad they're doing this. Some areas of town have very little green space, especially since grass has been outlawed. Trees are a net positive, even if it isn't a silver bullet solution. I do miss the grass though, everyone in the neighborhood watering their grass at night really cooled things down but the cost is too high considering how much water is used. Trees can keep the asphalt and concrete from becoming frying pans.
It really should be outlawed almost everywhere. It's the biggest crop in America and iirc the largest consumer of water and insecticides and other chemicals. Natural lawns can be beautiful and more positive for the local environment.
There is plenty of areas where there is enough natural rainfall. No point of banning it there. Just have to accept that sometimes if there is drought it will go brown, but it will survive and regrow eventually in such areas.
Now if it needs regular watering yeah, that is waste unless there is plentiful surface water...
Many of the trees planted here can handle the harsh climate of Las Vegas summers and infrequent watering [1], not even mentioning that we recycle nearly 40% of our water and are amongst one of (if not the most) water efficient cities in the world [2].
If you can't tell I'm a bit of a proud Las Vegas local having grown up here, so there's bias in my words.
