Given that climate change is expected to intensify Urban Heat Islands (UHI) effects, municipalities are exploring various cooling strategies, which includes increasing implementation of urban forestry design. More specifically, trees are widely recognized for their ability to lower urban surface temperatures through shading, evaporation, and airflow regulation. However, integrating an expanded urban forest to effectively combat climate change necessitates strategic planning in tree infrastructure design, maintenance, and its synergistic integration with city infrastructure. Collaborating with the City of Vancouver for implementing innovative green stormwater infrastructure, through innovative Rainwater Tree Trenches (RTT) within structural soils, this research addresses the practical challenges encountered in the implementation of such green infrastructure. Therefore, this research will encompass a thorough review of urban forestry standards and RTT guidelines, supported by data on tree growth in structural soil. The research also provides preliminary results on small-scale microclimate data measured in and RTT in Victoria, BC, Canada for understanding implications of structural soil and RTTs for energy and moisture balance within the urban system.