Webinar: What happens when you go “Hyperlocal”? The legacy of inequitable heat exposure in US cities

This presentation will explore how increasing community engagement in both understanding and measuring urban heat using a novel participatory research campaign framework can lead to climate action efficacy in US cities.

OneNOAA Science Seminar Series

Title: What happens when you go “Hyperlocal”? The legacy of inequitable heat exposure in US cities

Presenters: Jeremy S. Hoffman, PhD, Chief Scientist, Science Museum of Virginia and Vivek Shandas, PhD, Professor of Climate Adaptation, Portland State University

When: Wednesday, May 19, 2021, 12-1pm ET

Sponsor(s): The National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS), co-led by the NOAA and the CDC, the NOAA Office of Education, and the NOAA Climate Program Office. 
Attendees interested in learning more about the impacts of extreme heat in urban areas, and how communities are dealing with them, are encouraged to sign up for the Heat Beat newsletter: https://lp.constantcontact.com/su/3DFc1Wx

Seminar Contacts: Hunter.Jones@noaa.gov and 
Carrie.McDougall@noaa.gov

View Recording:

recording

Accessibility: There will not be live captioning, but the recording will be posted to YouTube, which generates captions.

Abstract: The increasing intensity, duration, and frequency of heat waves due to human-caused climate change puts historically marginalized populations in a heightened state of precarity, as studies observe that “vulnerable” communities—especially those within urban areas in the United States—are disproportionately exposed to and affected by extreme heat. However, existing data on weather and climate variables are either too sparse or too coarse geographically to adequately describe risks to public health, infrastructure, and ecosystems at the local scale. This presentation will explore how increasing community engagement in both understanding and measuring urban heat using a novel participatory research campaign framework can lead to climate action efficacy in US cities. We suggest that such scientifically-defensible “hyperlocal” descriptions of place together with community participation directly serves NOAA’s mission while advancing environmental justice, community environmental literacy, and climate resilience more broadly.

About the Speakers:
Dr. Jeremy Hoffman is the Chief Scientist at the Science Museum of Virginia and Affiliate Faculty in the L. Douglas Wilder School and the Center for Environmental Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Hoffman specializes in connecting audiences to their changing planet through community science campaigns, interactive media, dynamic exhibitions, and hands-on experiences. His research has focused on assessing exposure to extreme heat in US urban areas and how this exposure relates to long-term planning policy and neighborhood design, and how this work can be leveraged to inspire community-driven climate action. Dr. Hoffman has served as a member of the Environment Committee for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, a Science Communication Fellow for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, and was recently honored as one of Style Weekly Richmond's Top 40 Under 40 and one of the Grist Magazine 50 Fixers for 2020.

Vivek Shandas: Dr. Vivek Shandas specializes in developing strategies for addressing the implications of climate change on cities. His teaching and research examine the intersection of exposure to climate-induced events, governance processes, and planning mechanisms. As an interdisciplinary scholar, Dr. Shandas studies the emergent characteristics that generate vulnerability among communities and infrastructure. Theoretically, he views cities as grand experiments that are socially constructed, and can vary in their capacities to adapt to changing social and ecological conditions. Empirically, Dr. Shandas examines the human and planetary forces that facilitate (or inhibit) collective response. As such the broad aims of his teaching and research are to identify threats to planetary habitation, and shape landscapes to improve urban environmental quality.

Slides & Recording: A PDF of the slides and the recording will be shared here: https://nihhis.cpo.noaa.gov/webinar

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*Cover image features volunteers in Jackson, MS in 2020 preparing for the campaign, courtesy of CAPA Strategies.