Teaching

This project funded by NASA Disasters Program aims to develop risk-informed and community-driven heat resilience solutions for traditionally industrial communities by integrating multi-source NASA Earth observations, human mobility, built environment, and community engagement. Traditionally industrial communities are particularly vulnerable to heat exposure exacerbated by urban heat island effect due to their unique urban functions and forms. Through partnering with the Community Development Department of the North Kansas City, our team aims to co-design and co-implement heat resilience solutions with community stakeholders to tackle the threats from increasing occurrences of extreme heat and urban heat island effects. ​​​

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Research Objectives:

• Assessing hyperlocal heat risks and community needs: We will assess regional extreme heat threats and thermal conditions by integrating NASA earth observations and ground sensor monitoring, incorporate human movement dynamics into heat exposure assessment, and seek community's input on local heat resilience needs and solutions.

• Co-designing heat resilience solutions for traditionally industrial communities: We will evaluate the cooling effectiveness of four categories of solutions through empirical analysis to optimize resilience solution design and solicit community feedback to optimize solution design and implementation.

• Community capacity building and project success assessment: We will develop a comprehensive HeatSMART Toolkit, establish a sustainable pathway to track projectoutcomes and impacts, and test the replicability of the HeatSMART framework in other older industrial communities facing similar heat threats.

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