Extreme Heat
How AI Is Revolutionizing Urban Forestry and Climate Resilience
Tree-D Fusion, an AI-driven tool developed by MIT and Purdue researchers, generates 3D models of urban trees to help city planners visualize future green spaces, address climate challenges, and enhance urban livability and sustainability.
Key Climate and Health Issues to Watch in 2025
The escalating health impacts of climate change, from extreme heat to sea level rise, highlight the urgent need for integrated medical education, proactive communication, and sustainable policy solutions to protect public health.
Phoenix Shade Plan Focuses on Bus Stops
The city’s updated Shade Master Plan calls for trees and built structures at bus stops to protect residents from heat.
New York Law Addresses Extreme Heat in Schools
The law calls for heat mitigation measures when temperatures exceed 88 degrees.
Cities Prioritize Urban Reforestation to Combat Heat and Revitalize Communities
Cities like Phoenix, Chicago, and Boise are prioritizing urban reforestation as critical green infrastructure to combat extreme heat, address environmental inequities, and foster community revitalization.
A Framework for Inclusive Tree Planting in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Urban Forest Equity Collective has developed an equity-centered tree-planting framework and toolkit to address historic underinvestment and mitigate extreme heat in vulnerable neighborhoods.
Phoenix Announces Shade Action Plan
The city has outlined 11 strategic priorities aimed at addressing the risks of extreme heat and protecting vulnerable residents from its impacts.
Quantifying How Urban Trees Cool Cities
A new tool can help cities understand the benefits of tree planting efforts at the municipal scale.
Research Shows Cool Pavement Coatings Can Raise Ambient Temperature
Coatings that reflect heat can make the air feel warmer for people standing on and around these surfaces.
Urban Trees Have Bigger Impact in Hot, Dry Cities
The cooling effect of robust urban tree canopies is more pronounced in hotter, drier cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas.
DC’s Hottest Neighborhoods Have the Least Shade
Areas most exposed to extreme heat also tend to lack bus shelters and benches at bus stops.
Intense October Heat Wave Raises Fire Risk in California
Unusually high temperatures across the state are prompting power shutoffs and could fuel more destructive wildfires.
Experts Call for Extreme Heat Action Plans as Communities Face Growing Risks
Experts are urging cities and counties to develop heat action plans and personalized heat warnings as extreme heat becomes a leading cause of climate-related deaths.
HUD Issues Extreme Heat Playbook
The guide contains actionable steps local and state governments can take to protect vulnerable residents from the impacts of extreme heat.
Study: Heat Deaths on the Rise, Predicted to Increase
As intense heat waves become more common, the risk of heat-related deaths is rising.
Green Schoolyards Offer Respite From Urban Heat
More schools are transforming asphalt-covered playgrounds into shady oases that help reduce temperatures and absorb emissions.
Rising Heat Threatens Growing California Cities
Many rapidly growing inland California cities are facing increased extreme heat days due to climate change, putting more residents at risk of health issues and overwhelming local infrastructure.
Protecting Indoor Workers from Extreme Heat
California has introduced new standards to protect indoor workers from extreme heat, requiring cool-down areas and cold water in workplaces like car washes and warehouses.
Designing Cooler Cities: Lessons from Ancient Civilizations
Ancient Rome had ways to counter the urban heat island effect. As climate change raises global temperatures, can urban planners and designers apply any of those lessons to cities today?
Public Pools: A Threatened Amenity?
Municipal pools offer important benefits to urban residents, but some cities are struggling to keep them open.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
