Cooling Conversations | Summer Webinar Series

Week 1 - Measuring What Matters: Satellites, Sensors, & Social Experiences of Heat (recording)


Presenters: Lauren Smalls-Mantey (NYC Dept. of Health), Amy Wilson & Jenna Kay (Clark County, WA)


Summary


This session explored diverse methods available for assessing urban heat, moving from a large-scale satellite perspective to ground-level realities. A NASA scientist detailed how satellite missions like Landsat and Ecostress provide invaluable data on land surface temperatures, which helps in identifying urban heat islands and informing green space initiatives. Dr. Lauren Smalls-Mantey then brought the focus to the street-level, describing New York City's air temperature monitoring campaign that used hundreds of sensors to capture hyperlocal temperature variations and validate larger models. Finally, Jenna Kay and Amy Wilson from Clark County, Washington, discussed their approach to understanding the social experience of heat through community surveys. They emphasized how qualitative data and resident stories reveal the real-world impacts of heat, which helps shape equitable and effective resilience policies.


Takeaways


  1. Satellite data is a foundational tool. NASA provides free, high-quality satellite data from missions like Landsat and Ecostress,which is crucial for understanding long-term trends and the distribution of heat across cities.
  2. On-the-ground sensors provide essential hyperlocal data. While satellites measure land surface temperature, on-the-ground sensors capture the air temperature people experience. This granular data is vital for ground-truthing models and understanding neighborhood-level heat exposure.
  3. Lived experience is key data. Quantitative data from satellites and sensors doesn't capture the full picture of extreme heat. Clark County's survey work showed that qualitative data from residents—their personal stories and challenges—is essential for understanding vulnerability and identifying community needs.
  4. Multiple data types can be integrated. The most effective heat action planning combines satellite imagery, ground-level sensor readings, and community-reported social experiences. Each data type has strengths and weaknesses, but together they offer a more comprehensive view of heat risk.
  5. Community engagement shapes better research. In developing their surveys, Clark County planners collaborated with an Environmental Justice Coalition. This partnership ensured questions were culturally relevant and reframed to resonate with diverse communities, such as asking about impacts on family rather than just the individual, which yielded richer data.
  6. Data can directly inform policy and action. NYC used its sensor data to validate air quality models, quantify the cooling benefits of tree canopy on public housing campuses, and create public-facing "data stories" to build awareness. This shows how localized data collection can lead to tangible planning and public health interventions.
  7. There are trade-offs between spatial and temporal resolution. High-resolution satellite data like Landsat (30-meter) may only be available for a specific location every week or two. Lower-resolution data from satellites like Ecostress or MODIS is available more frequently, even multiple times a day, which is better for tracking temperature changes over time.

Week 2 - Beyond Heat Alerts: Effective Engagement with Hard-to-Reach Populations (recording)


Presenters: Carmen Cavezza (CEER), Highland Edelman (Wash Co. Public Health) , Dana Hellman, PhD (CAPA)


Summary


This webinar focused on strategies for engaging communities most vulnerable to extreme heat, moving beyond standard public alert systems. Carmen Cavezza from CEER in Houston, Texas shared her deeply relational, ground-up approach, which involves hiring and training local residents as paid "Climate Ambassadors" who build trust and co-design solutions within their own neighborhoods. Highland Edelman of Washington County, Oregon, discussed reframing the term "hard-to-reach" to place the responsibility on institutions to adapt their communication methods, showcasing a project that created culturally specific heat safety videos featuring community members. Dana Hellman from CAPA Strategies presented a case study on monitoring indoor heat in affordable housing, highlighting how direct partnership with residents to collect data and co-develop solutions revealed crucial insights—like the ineffectiveness of certain alerts and the need for more accessible cooling spaces—that top-down approaches would have missed.


Takeaways


  1. Reframe "hard-to-reach" to focus on institutional barriers. Instead of labeling communities as "hard-to-reach," organizations should recognize that their own communication methods, often designed for a dominant culture, create barriers. The responsibility is on institutions to adapt and learn how to best communicate with diverse audiences.
  2. Build relationships at the "pace of trust." Effective engagement isn't transactional; it requires long-term investment in building genuine relationships.
  3. Hire and compensate community members as experts. Residents are experts in their own lived experiences. Paying community members as "Climate Ambassadors" or for their participation in studies, as done by CEER and CAPA, respectively, respects their knowledge, compensates them for their time, and builds local capacity.
  4. Co-create solutions with the community. Engagement should empower residents to lead and shape outcomes. In Houston, policy solutions for weatherization came directly from community surveys, and in Portland's affordable housing project, residents identified key building-level interventions, such as the need for extended hours in on-site cooling spaces.
  5. Use culturally specific and trusted messengers. Information is more effective when delivered by familiar faces in a culturally relevant format. Washington County's heat safety videos featured local residents sharing their own tips in their own languages, a strategy that resonates more deeply than generic government messaging.
  6. Go beyond alerts to provide actionable options. Alerts are insufficient if people lack the resources to act. The indoor heat study found that residents already knew it was dangerously hot; what they needed were tangible, on-site solutions, not just another notification.
  7. Diversify communication channels. Different communities use different platforms. Relying solely on one method (e.g., social media, email) will miss large segments of the population. Successful outreach requires a multi-platform approach, using everything from text messages and WhatsApp to in-person flyers and phone calls, tailored to what different groups actually use.

Week 3 - Decoding the Danger: Designing Accessible Platforms for Heat Management (recording)


Presenters: Morgan Zabow (NOAA), Brendon Haggerty (Multnomah County), Derrick Frese (Arbor Day Foundation), Zachary Boyce (CAPA)


Summary


This session showcased a range of digital platforms designed to help communities understand and manage heat risk, scaling from the federal to the hyper-local level. Morgan Zabow introduced NOAA's Heat.gov, a national one-stop-shop for heat information, forecasts, and preparedness resources from across federal agencies. Derek Frese from the Arbor Day Foundation demonstrated tools like the NatureScore Urban Heat Index and TreeCanopy.us, which provide publicly accessible data to help prioritize tree planting in areas with low canopy and high heat risk. Brendon Haggerty explained how Multnomah County developed a Heat Vulnerability Index by combining data on heat exposure, population sensitivity, and adaptive capacity, using it to target interventions like installing heat pumps in mobile homes. Finally, Zachary Boyce of CAPA Strategies previewed an in-development platform that integrates hyper-local forecast data with community-specific social metrics to support real-time emergency response and long-term planning.


Takeaways


  1. Centralized federal resources are available. Heat.gov serves as a primary national source for heat data, providing daily updates on the number of people under heat alerts, 7-day forecasts, and a library of resources for decision-makers and the public.
  2. Accessible data can empower local action. Tools like the Arbor Day Foundation's TreeCanopy.us make sophisticated tree canopy assessments available to all communities, enabling smaller municipalities that couldn't afford their own studies to make data-driven decisions about greening initiatives.
  3. Vulnerability is more than just exposure. An effective heat vulnerability index, like Multnomah County's, must integrate three components: exposure (e.g., temperature), sensitivity (e.g., age, health conditions), and adaptive capacity (e.g., income, housing quality). Mapping these domains separately reveals different geographic priorities and helps tailor interventions.
  4. The future of heat management is integrative. New platforms are moving beyond static maps to provide real-time, high-resolution (10-meter) forecasts that integrate social vulnerability data. This allows emergency managers to anticipate needs and deploy resources proactively during a heat wave.
  5. Data can drive cross-departmental collaboration. By sharing its heat vulnerability map horizontally with other agencies, Multnomah County's health department was able to get the data incorporated into the Portland Urban Forestry Plan and transportation planning exercises. This "mainstreams" heat as a priority across disciplines.

Week 4 - From Planning to Protection: Implementing Heat Resilient Policies in Your Community (recording)


Presenters: Grace Wickerson (FAS), Marta Segura (City of Los Angeles), Jonna Papaefthimiou (State of Oregon)


Summary


The final session provided a multi-scalar view on translating heat awareness and assessment into concrete policy and action. Grace Wickerson of the Federation of American Scientists gave an overview of the federal landscape, noting the dismantling of key heat infrastructure and funding, while advocating for a "polycentric" approach where state, local, and private actors collaborate to fill the gaps. Jonna Papaefthimiou, Oregon's State Resilience Officer, shared a powerful narrative of how the 2021 heat dome in the Pacific Northwest served as a catalyst for policy change, leading to new laws on worker protections, tenant rights to cooling, and innovative local programs like mobile cooling trailers. Finally, Marta Segura, Los Angeles's Chief Heat Officer, detailed how the city is institutionalizing heat action through a comprehensive plan with five tracks—from public awareness to nature-based solutions—driven by an administrative code that ensures accountability and collaboration with community partners.


Takeaways


  1. Take a "polycentric," multi-level approach. With federal heat infrastructure facing rollbacks, progress depends on a collaborative network of state and local governments, nonprofits, community groups, and the private sector working together to build resilience from the ground up.
  2. Extreme events can be powerful catalysts for policy change. Oregon's deadly 2021 heat dome created a window of opportunity where public and political will aligned, enabling the passage of legislation like Senate Bill 1536 (Right to Cooling) and strong OSHA worker protections that might have otherwise stalled.
  3. Institutionalize heat action through formal plans and codes. To ensure longevity beyond political cycles, heat resilience must be embedded in official governance. Los Angeles created a Chief Heat Officer position and mandated a Heat Action Plan via an administrative code, creating a permanent structure for accountability and implementation.
  4. Center the human story to keep momentum. Data is important, but personal stories of impact are what drive sustained political and public will.
  5. Move beyond mortality as the sole metric of success. Success in heat resilience isn't just about preventing deaths. It also includes reducing emergency room visits and 911 calls, addressing economic impacts like lost productivity, and improving overall livability and equity.
  6. Indoor heat is a critical, under-addressed issue. A key policy area is establishing habitability standards for cooling in rental housing, similar to existing standards for heating. Most heat deaths occur at home, making indoor conditions a life-or-death issue that requires policy intervention.
  7. Local community groups are doing the work and need resources. Across the country, local organizations are already building resilience through grassroots efforts like planting trees and checking on neighbors, often funded by bake sales. State and local governments can achieve greater impact by funding these existing, trusted networks rather than trying to build new systems from scratch.