Climate change is intensifying extreme heat in cities putting lives at risk. How do we better protect our cities and people?
The “heat island effect” where cities experience higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas, has been a challenge for decades. RWDI has been helping city planners, architects and developers address this in design projects for over 50 years.
But like most things in our world today climate change is worsening the heat island effect. Extreme heat is now reaching unsafe levels, putting outdoor workers (construction, mail carriers, first responders) and those in poorly cooled environments (warehouse, delivery vehicles) at risk of serious heat-related illnesses. Similarly, low-income communities with limited access to cooling face heightend risks of illness or even death.
New tech? Back to nature?
The need for innovative cooling solutions is urgent. And this is something our team at RWDI Ventures is pursuing aggressively. Advances in climate and biotech offer some promising supports like body temperature monitors and heat stress vests. There is also a return to nature for solutions that is also promising with the expansion of urban green spaces, trees, and rooftop gardens. And new cooling products from paint to chalk to clothing are also promising. But the urgency of extreme heat demands better protection and solutions—faster.
And this is where our heads are at. We are exploring holistic, innovative approaches to tackle this crisis—and we invite your ideas. How can we better protect cities and workers from extreme heat?