Using Maps and Models to Build Urban Heat Resilience

The impacts of the urban heat island (UHI) and extreme heat events are well documented, including increases in public health issues, stresses on urban ecology, and energy usage to mitigate higher temperatures. Increases in urban heat is of particular concern to cities in the Southwest, since it counteracts the cooling that otherwise normally occurs at night. While UHI mapping and modeling have become more sophisticated in recent years, there is still an information gap between the heat maps and models, urban planning and design strategies to decrease heat, and the use of that information in policy decision making. This study documented the current use of urban heat maps and models in communities in Arizona and New Mexico and evaluated best practices and opportunities to increase their usability. This project contributed to development of an online network called the Heat Resilience Initiative, an interdisciplinary community of research and practice on the causes, impacts, and strategies to increase resilience to extreme heat.

"From a public sector perspective, it was good working with {CLIMAS]... It's awesome having Ladd as a resource in our region. I look for ways we can work with him and ways in which we can share our work to help further his goals. [His focus] is different in that it's more on the policy side of things, but the use of this information sparks discussion and new projects."
- Josh Pope, Pima Association of Governments

CLIMAS Lead: Ladd Keith

Research Team: Ben McMahan, Michael Story, Tess Wagner, Erika Schmidt, Sarah Meerow

Partners: Pima Association of Governments

Publications and Reports

Keith, L., Gabbe, C. J., & Schmidt, E. (2023). Urban heat governance: examining the role of urban planning. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 25(5), 642-662. https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2023.2244446

Crisman, J. J. an, Keith, L., Sami, I., & Garfin, G. M. (2023). Designing Chill City: An interactive game supporting public learning about urban planning for extreme heat. The Journal of Environmental Education, 54(3), 225–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2023.2183173

Hughes, H. B., Breshears, D. D., Cook, K. J., Keith, L., & Burger, J. R. (2023). Household energy use response to extreme heat with a biophysical model of temperature regulation: An Arizona case study. PLOS Climate, 2(4), e0000110. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000110

Sami, I., & Keith, L.. (2023). How do streetcar transit users and streetcar decision-makers perceive heat risk?. Journal of Public Transportation, 25, 100045. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubtr.2023.100045

Keith, L., Meerow, S., Trego, S., & Schmidt, E. (2022). City of Tempe, AZ: Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™ (PIRS™) For Heat.

Keith, L., & Meerow, S. (2022). Planning for Urban Heat Resilience. American Planning Association.

Keith, L., Meerow, S., Berke, P., DeAngelis, J., Jensen, L., Trego, S., Schmidt, E., & Smith, S. (2022). Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard for Heat: Spatially evaluating networks of plans to mitigate heat. American Planning Association.

Meerow, S., & Keith, L.. (2021). Planning for Extreme Heat: A National Survey of U.S. Planners. Journal of the American Planning Association, 88(3), 319–334.

Keith, L., Meerow, S., Hondula, D. M., Turner, V. K., & Arnott, J. C. (2021). Deploy heat officers, policies and metrics. Nature, 598(7879), 29–31. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02677-2

Keith, L., Meerow, S., & Wagner, T. (2019). Planning for Extreme Heat: A Review. Journal of Extreme Events, 06(03n04), 2050003. https://doi.org/10.1142/S2345737620500037

Keith, L. (2019). Assessing Policy Innovation: Climate Action Planning in the U.S. Southwest. University of Arizona.

Keith, L., McMahan, B., & Wagner, T. (2019). Urban Heat Island Maps and decision-making. Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS). https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.35788.49282