Healthy Urban Environments' second convening, on July 29, focused on the 2020 cohort who are just starting their projects during COVID-19. With 38 participants in attendance each team presented their progress as well as the challenges and adjustments each project had to endure.

2020 Projects:

Encouraging Teleworking as a Strategy to Reduce Ozone from Commute Trips in Maricopa County – Rebeca Sanders

This project will develop a telecommuting toolkit that contains a concise, graphical guide for Human Resources departments seeking to develop telecommuting programs. The toolkit will be developed to up scale the project in other municipalities.

HeatReady Schools – Jenni Vanos and Adora Shortridge

This research targets schoolchildren and heat preparedness within schools to mitigate high temperatures and health concerns. The goal is to create an evaluation tool for “HeatReady Schools,” whereby HeatReady Schools are those that are increasingly able to identify, prepare for, mitigate, track and respond to the negative impacts of heat.

Increasing Heat Awareness in Manufactured and RV Homes – Vjollca Berisha and Patricia Solis

Through surveys and workshops, this project aims to analyze risks and challenges of extreme heat faced by mobile home residents. Based on findings, the project will develop and disseminate toolkits highlighting mobile home-specific adaptations, mitigations and resources.

HydroHats – Rachna Nath and Jenni Vanos

A student-led team from Arizona College Prep - Erie Campus developed a prototype for a “HydroHat,” a wearable device that identifies heat-related illness symptoms. This device will monitor a user for three different vital signs: temperature, pulse rate and acceleration.

Zoo Parking – Steve Betts, Florian Schnider and Ray Quay

The City of Phoenix, in cooperation with the Arizona Center for Nature Conservation/Phoenix Zoo, is retrofitting and expanding the parking area used by the Zoo. The new parking lot will utilize features to address heat and storm water issues, such as shade trees, storm water swales and increased shade structures along pedestrian pathways.

Heat and Health Maps for Decision-Making in Tempe – Paul Coseo, Katja Brundiers and Braden Kay

Heat is a common health crisis in our region, and it hits vulnerable populations first and worst. The Tempe Heat Intervention Mapping project will improve the city's ability to devise data-informed decisions and actions regarding extreme heat that will improve community health and well-being.

Measuring the Urban Canopy and Cool Corridors – Dave Hondula and Mark Hartman 

This project will update the tree shade canopy percentage for the City of Phoenix. The project will also produce graphics and visualizations to be used for public engagement.

Reflective Parking Lots – Ashely Broadbent and Sam Markolf

Maricopa County and its municipalities are exploring the potential for reflective asphalt coatings to lower urban temperatures and provide benefits to County residents. This project will measure the surface energy balance and near-surface temperatures before and after coating application, will simulate widespread implementation of reflective coatings, and will analyze benefit-costs across Maricopa County.