Heat Island Mitigation Toolkit

Year:

2024 Dec

This project focuses on the design and implementation of various scales of heat mitigation infrastructure in the city’s public spaces, with the aim of transforming these spaces into resilient, community-focused, and community-driven tools for the effort against climate change.

New York City is characterized by climate change’s unequal impact on its various communities. As a result of decades of targeted planning policies such as redlining, as well as discriminatory housing policies and market practices, entire communities—predominantly Black and Latinx—have been underserved by public infrastructure in terms of access to health facilities and green spaces. This lack of access creates a situation of crisis in the face of our changing climate, with these communities being disproportionately affected by phenomena such as Urban Heat Islands.

Targeted research and mapping of the impact of heat islands on the city’s underserved communities, identifying the most vulnerable areas around the city, allowed the project to evolve into a study of community-centered green infrastructure at various scales. This includes mobile shading devices, community gardens, and water infrastructure.