Katherine Davis-Young/KJZZ
The Burton Barr Library in Phoenix is among the cooling centers of the Maricopa Association of Governments Heat Relief Network.
Two Arizona universities will be part of a new organization that aims to help communities across the country create policies and take action to manage and mitigate extreme heat. The Center for Heat Resilient Communities is a partnership between UCLA, the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, and will be funded by a federal grant of more than $2 million.
Ladd Keith is an assistant professor of planning at UA and a faculty research associate at the Udall Center; He is also one of the co-directors of the new center. He joins The Show to talk more about it, starting with whether it’s more of a question of knowledge or resources, in terms of cities being able to take the necessary steps to deal with extreme heat.
full conversation
BOY KEITH: Yeah, so the idea that we should even be planning for heat is still pretty new compared to other hazards, right? So this idea of heat governance is still fairly new in the United States and, in fact, in governments around the world. But we’ve seen plenty of action in select locations, and of course Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami-Dade County now have dedicated heating chief-type positions. And here in Arizona, we also have a dedicated heating director at the state level. But we still don’t see this level of action in the other 19,000 communities in the United States, so the idea here is really to take the lessons learned from the research that’s being done on how we should address the heat and really try to address it. . implement it in the rest of the United States, whether large, medium or small communities, in all geographies and in all types of climate.
BRODIE BRAND: How do you try to adapt something, for example, that might work well in Phoenix or Tucson, to a smaller community? Or something, you know, expanding something that works in a smaller community to a larger city like Los Angeles or Phoenix?
KEITH: Yes, that’s a great question. I think we’ve seen that some of the lessons learned are universal, so coordination is something that’s needed regardless of whether you’re a large city, a medium-sized city, or a small city, right? So those types of actions are pretty universal and work well, regardless of the size of the city. Some others, like the actual strategies implemented to cool cities, may be much more geographically specific, right? And to that end, although the center is located at UCLA with the partnership between the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, we have a very broad network of collaborators, professionals and professors throughout the country who are contributing to this type of framework that we are developing. And so, take advantage of the knowledge from across the country about what works.
BRODIE: I’m curious what you mentioned, in terms of coordination, because when you talk to some of the heating chiefs and other people who do what you do, coordination seems to be a real key between different levels of government, between different entities, different stakeholder groups, that kind of thing.
KEITH: Yes, absolutely, and I think we’ve seen that level of coordination really increase here in Arizona, specifically after the governor declared the heat emergency and then adopted the statewide heat action plan, and then again, with the appointment from our heat manager. We’ve seen it here in southern Arizona, we now have a joint heat action team that meets weekly and some sort of coordination between many jurisdictions that had never met formally before preparing for the heat. And so I think those kinds of lessons that we’ve learned in Arizona, of course, Maricopa County has been very well organized for many years on heat, with response from cooling centers and so on, but taking those lessons back and really making sure that other communities don’t have to go through the same long learning process as us, and can come to a really good starting point, because of course the heat is increasing faster than our resources are increasing to deal with it. .
BRODIE: So do you see your role as more of a sort of clearinghouse where, you know, let’s say, you know, a small community in some other state has questions or wants to know, you know, what, what some of the best practices are? , instead of contacting Phoenix and Tucson and the state health department here, for example, they can contact you and you will have all that information.
KEITH: Yeah, that’s absolutely the goal of a lot of federally funded research programs that we run at the U of A and, you know, other universities run, they’re more focused on original research. I would say this center is exactly that. It’s about trying to translate the research that’s already been done and, again, bringing those best practices together and really getting them into the hands of communities so they can act on them. So that’s really the role of the center.
BRODIE: So what are some of those best practices that have been identified so far that you would imagine almost anyone who contacts you will say, “you should probably do this”?
KEITH: Yes, that’s a great question. So I think, again, coordination is one of the first things that we recommend communities do. So just bringing together all the people in the room who are probably already working on heat in different ways, but who may use different metrics, may have different actions that they focus on, and may have different goals that they focus on. you are watching. So getting them to actually talk together for the first time is really key. But then, once you dig beyond that initial coordination, it’s about looking at the actions you take to prepare for the hot season. So things like maybe coordinating that cooling center relief network, or how you would respond to a record heat wave, if that happened with the emergency management people. And then we also look at those long-term urban planning type strategies to really reduce the urban heat island effect and, again, those could be things around more greenery, the use of cooler surfaces, like cool pavement or cool roofs. . But again, they’re really going to vary across the country, so, you know, that’s where we’ll draw on a lot of local expertise to really understand what’s best for each location.
BRODIE: Well, you mentioned that this center will focus perhaps a little less than a typical university enterprise on original research. But I wonder if there’s still research going on in terms of, you know, we touched on the issue of resources, you know, things like cooling centers, cold pavement, things like that, which obviously cost money, and I imagine. There are some communities that would like to do some of those things, but maybe they just can’t afford it. I’m wondering if there’s any research being done to try to help with some of the low-cost mitigation strategies that might still be quite effective, but maybe don’t cost as much as you know, for example opening a 24-hour cooling center or something like that.
Regina Romero Mayor’s Office
University of Arizona professor Ladd Keith (left) with Tucson and Pima County officials in February 2024.
KEITH: Yes absolutely. We have several other research programs that are doing exactly that, trying to answer some of those questions. Then, of course, the NOAA-funded climate assessment for the Southwest here at the University of Arizona serving Arizona and New Mexico. We also have our BRACE-funded program that’s funded by the CDC, BRACE stands for “building resilience against climate effects,” where we partner very closely with the Arizona Department of Health Services and a number of other grants, right? So I think a lot of that work will continue. But again, this center is really looking at how we can take a lot of the research that’s being done elsewhere and translate it into action for local communities.
BRODIE: So given the fact that, at least here in the Phoenix area, we’re already sitting in the triple digits, how quickly will they be able to hit the ground running this summer to help other communities that might be looking for help with the heat? ?
KEITH: Yes, that’s a great question. And so it’s a two-part answer. One is that we already have a lot of resources available through the universities that are co-sponsoring this new center, as well as all the collaborators we are working with. And we’re going to try to get them to heat.gov as quickly as possible. So, that’s the first part of the answer. The second part is that we will put out a call for communities interested in receiving support from the center to be part of our first cohort of about 30, and we will put it out fairly quickly and hope to work with those communities as quickly as possible. as possible.
BRODIE: Sure. Alright. This is Ladd Keith, from the University of Arizona, and also one of the co-directors of the new Center for Heat Resilient Communities. Ladd, nice talking to you as always, thank you.
KEITH: Yes, thank you very much.
KJZZ’s The Show transcripts are created on deadline. This text may not be in its final form. The authorized record of KJZZ programming is the audio record.
More KJZZ stories
[fifu]
Keynote USA
For the Latest Local News, Follow Keynote USA Local on Twitter.