In partnership with NASA DEVELOP and funding from Thriving Earth Exchange, the City developed an Urban Heat Vulnerability Index (UHVI). The UHVI considered a community's exposure to heat as well as social and health factors that may increase its vulnerability to extreme heat events. Heat risk includes both heat exposure and vulnerability.

The study showed heat is not evenly distributed across the city and that certain areas face higher risk to events such as heat waves. The findings of the study can help inform what heat mitigation strategies should be implemented and what areas should be prioritized for cooling interventions.

To learn more about this project, visit the StoryMap and the final technical report.

As part of this funding from Thriving Earth Exchange, the City also partnered with the Copley-Price Family YMCA in City Heights to host a living wall event. City and YMCA staff helped about 40 children become eco-heroes for the day, teaching them about the importance of green space to support clean air and combat climate change, and engaging the campers in a sticker poll. The campers also helped to build a living wall, which holders a variety of plants and succulents to remove air pollutants and reduce urban temperatures.