About Healthy Urban Environments

As urban centers across the desert Southwest continue to grow in size and density, so do the challenges posed by the expansion of the built environment. In Phoenix, AZ, this expansion of the built environment creates conditions which magnify the intensity and duration of heat – making it difficult for residents to achieve thermal comfort throughout the day and night. Further, the legacies of urban sprawl and transportation planning in the Phoenix metropolitan area have contributed to challenges with atmospheric pollutants. Importantly, urban heat and air quality issues intersect to produce negative health incomes that impact the region’s communities, particularly those who are most vulnerable and least able to adapt.

HUE was a solutions-focused research, policy and technology incubator. As such, HUE rapidly developed, tested and deployed heat-mitigation and air-quality improvement strategies and technologies. In collaboration with practitioners and community members, HUE worked to create healthier communities across Maricopa County. Deploying a regenerative operational model that used technology and policy outcomes to fertilize future research and development, HUE translated air quality and urban heat-related research into policy action, novel technology and commercialized intellectual property.

HUE Core Pillars

HUE was composed of four core project pillars across which project activities, outputs and outcomes were organized:

1. Research, Solutions and Innovation Incubator: HUE initiated laboratory- and field-based projects to test novel heat and air pollution mitigation technologies.
2. Implementation and Evaluation of New Insights in Real World Context: HUE tested new solutions developed as part of HUE-sponsored projects; conducted surveys and in-depth interviews of community members; and enabled Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property licensing on all projects sponsored by HUE.
3. Public, Workforce and Management Education: HUE enabled capacity through development and implementation of workshops for community members; created online modules to be integrated into six existing Arizona State University outreach programs; and developed material for four new workforce training programs.
4. Communication, Networking and Solution Hub: HUE convened workshops to share mitigation approaches; initiated new inquiries to expand on urban heat and air quality improvement strategies; and provided summative reports on relevant community strategies for interventions for urban heat and air quality.

Our Support

HUE is grateful for the support that it received from the Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority (MCIDA), Award #AWD00033817.