The county’s plan addresses a range of infrastructure improvements and community resources that could limit the impacts of extreme heat waves.
Miami-Dade County has issued a new plan aimed at mitigating the effects of extreme heat in the region through infrastructure improvements and public education. David Volz reports on the story for Route Fifty. The Extreme Heat Action Plan, announced by the county’s mayor along with the Resilient305 partnership and the Miami Foundation, proposes “a combination of blue, green, and gray infrastructure to cool neighborhoods and communities.”
As Volz explains, “Miami-Dade is known for its vulnerability to hurricanes, but extreme heat causes more deaths and has a greater annual economic impact than any other weather-related disaster.” Roughly 34 people in the county die from heat-related causes every year.
One way officials plan to educate the public is to name extreme heat waves in the way hurricanes are named. Also, the county has begun retrofitting virtually all public housing units with efficient air conditioning and is working to expand the tree canopy, which is currently at 20 percent, to 30 percent by 2030.
The plan also suggests that the county develop “pilot programs of different types of cool pavements on walkways, bike paths, parking lots and low-volume roads, while working with the Federal Highway Administration and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) on similar pilots for higher-trafficked roads.”
In 2022, Miami-Dade County became one of the first government entities to hire a ‘heat officer,’ an official tasked with developing strategies for combating the effects of extreme heat.
FULL STORY: Miami-Dade Debuts Plan to Tackle Extreme Heat Problem
The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall
The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.
Report: Las Vegas, Houston Top List of Least Affordable Cities
The report assesses the availability of affordable rental units for low-income households.
The Paradox of American Housing
How the tension between housing as an asset and as an essential good keeps the supply inadequate and costs high.
Anchorage Leaders Debate Zoning Reform Plan
Last year, the city produced the fewest new housing units in a decade.
How to Protect Pedestrians With Disabilities
Public agencies don’t track traffic deaths and injuries involving disabled people, leaving a gap in data to guide safety interventions.
Colorado Town Fills Workforce Housing Need With ‘Dorm-Style’ Housing
Median rent in Steamboat Springs is $4,000 per month.
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.