Community Driven Cooling Solutions
Longmont, Colorado
Following a Heat Watch mapping campaign in 2023, the City of Longmont Sustainability Program contracted CAPA to investigate potential cooling strategies. In summer and fall 2023, CAPA designed the “Longmont Summer Heat Survey” for citywide release. The survey covered topics such as locations of heat exposure; access to mechanical in-home cooling; knowledge of heat safety and illness; knowledge of the urban heat island effect; personal coping strategies for heat; perceptions of changing conditions and heat risk; and general challenges regarding heat exposure, energy bills, or related issues.
The Sustainability Program identified three priority neighborhood districts in Longmont for deeper engagement: Lanyon, Spangler, and Kensington. CAPA developed a series of materials and protocols for the City to deploy in the three districts, including an accessible diagram explaining the urban heat island effect; neighborhood scale heat maps; and one-page handouts on a variety of heat intervention strategies. These items were used for discussion in targeted engagement activities such as door-to-door visits, tabling in neighborhood parks, and meeting with residents during a community tree planting event. CAPA also designed a protocol and materials for two neighborhood workshops (English and Spanish). During these events, residents learned about the urban heat island effect and local heat data, voted on their preferred heat intervention strategies, and identified locations on a map where specific strategies would be most useful.
In 2024 CAPA created the Longmont Heat Action Plan. This involved characterization of heat risk across multiple domains including spatial, climatological, social, economic, infrastructural, and environmental. CAPA conducted a thorough review of existing planning documents to determine heat goals, and a complementary assessment of the municipal code to identify heat adaptation levers and potential barriers to action. Plan recommendations address policy suggestions, emergency planning, code amendments, funding, engagement and education, and success metrics.
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Air Quality Monitoring
Extreme Heat Projections
Intervention Guidebook