The world continues to grapple with the effects of climate change, and major cities are becoming quite literally an oven now. While it might be cool to be able to cook an egg on a car’s hood, there are a lot more pressing issues that come with having the hottest summer on record. In a media briefing on September 29, hosted by Ethnic Media Services, experts made it clear that this is a problem that requires urgent attention and innovative solutions.

Speakers

(L-r) Jane Gilbert, Chief Heat Officer, City of Miami, Florida; David Hondula, Director of the Office of Heat Response and Mitigation in Phoenix; Marta Segura, Chief Heat Officer of the City of Los Angeles (EMS).
  • Jane Gilbert, Chief Heat Officer, City of Miami, Florida
  • David Hondula, Director of the Office of Heat Response and Mitigation in Phoenix
  • Marta Segura, Chief Heat Officer of the City of Los Angeles

David Hondula harped the need for strategizing as a whole country and not only within a few small organizations. “In the Biden White House there’s kind of the equivalent of the 3 of us now working on developing national strategy for for heat,” he said, “so I’m hopeful that we’re at a really important inflection point in this conversation.”

Hondula’s optimism was shared by his colleagues, Jane Gilbert and Marta Segura, who are the chief heat officers for Miami and Los Angeles, respectively. Gilbert spoke about the importance of community engagement in addressing the issue of extreme heat. “We need to be talking to people about what they’re experiencing and what they need,” she said. “We need to be listening to them and working with them to find solutions.”

Segura echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the need for solutions to come from the people themselves. “What we have to do is flip around how we democratize solutions for government by having those solutions emanate from the people,” she said. “So public awareness is critical to that and that’s why public awareness and organizing and engagement and having conversations with everyday people about extreme heat is an opportunity to catalyze that change and connect with climate solutions.”

One of the most innovative solutions discussed during the conversation was the idea of “cool pavement,” or a pavement reflecting sunlight and absorbing less heat. Hondula acknowledged that some find the effectiveness of the cool pavement questionable, but he clutched onto his optimism about its potential. “There might be some questions about cool pavement,” he said, “But looking forward to the questions and dialogue and so help so happy just to be joined with Marta and Jane, we’re seeing evolution at all scales of government in this conversation.”

While cool pavement may be a promising solution, it is clear that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Each city must find its own unique handcrafted solutions based on its climate, geography, and demographics. However, common themes emerged, creating a basic recipe which can be applied to any city.

One of these themes are the all important data analysis. All of the speakers expressed an emphasis for accurate and up-to-date data. Data on heat-related illnesses and deaths, and so much more. The data help cities identify the most vulnerable areas and allocate their resources accordingly.

We also need the all important communication and collaboration. They spoke about the need for cities to work together to share best practices and learn from each other’s experiences., after all that’s what we have done since elementary school so why can’t we do it at a bigger scale. “We’re all in this together,” said Gilbert, “we need to be sharing information and working together to find solutions.”

The communication has to be all throughout. Sectors within a city need to be in talks. Segura spoke about the importance of bringing together different stakeholders, including government agencies, community organizations, and businesses. “We need to be working across sectors to find solutions,” she said, “We need to be engaging with the private sector and bringing them into the conversation.”

As conversation drew to a close, we established much work is to be done. However, some optimism and solutions arising as cities work together and engage with their communities. “We have a lot of work to do,” said Hondula, “but I’m optimistic that we can find solutions if we work together and listen to the people who are most affected by extreme heat.”

To round it off, climate change is a problem that requires urgent attention and innovative solutions. The experts highlighted the need for a national strategy, community engagement, data, collaboration, and innovation. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, common themes can be applied to any city. By working together and engaging with their communities, cities can find solutions to the problem of extreme heat and create livable, walkable, and inhabitable cities for all. While this may sound like a piece of cake, misinformation fuels misconceptions making it challenging, but not impossible.