Last updated: November 2024
The Heat Action Planning project in the Lindo Park-Roesley Park Neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona, specifically addresses the heat-related challenges residents face in this area. Phoenix is particularly vulnerable to extreme heat events, and this project aims to provide both mitigation and adaptation strategies to reduce the direct impacts of heat and help residents cope more effectively with these conditions. As part of the city’s broader Heat Action Plan, the Lindo Park-Roesley Park initiative is one of three target areas, including Edison-Eastlake, just east of downtown Phoenix, and the Water Tower Improvement District in the City of Mesa. The project focuses on heat hazards such as extreme temperature events and the urban heat island effect, which disproportionately affect vulnerable populations. This project is a collaborative effort, uniting a range of stakeholders including The Nature Conservancy, Maricopa County Department of Public Health, the Central Arizona Conservation Alliance, the Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network, Arizona State University’s Urban Climate Research Center, and the local residents. Together, these partners are working to develop comprehensive heat mitigation and adaptation strategies that address social equity and strengthen community engagement. Furthermore, the Heat Action Planning process was designed to serve as a model for future heat resilience efforts and create a local, contextual, and culturally appropriate vision of a safer, healthier future. The iterative planning and engagement method used by the project team strengthened relationships within and between neighborhoods, community-based organizations, decision-makers, and the core team, and it combined storytelling wisdom and scientific evidence to better understand current and future challenges residents face during extreme heat events.The ultimate aim is to foster a more resilient and equitable neighborhood (1-7).
Community members planting trees in Lindo Park-Roesley Park in Phoenix
Ivan Martinez/The Nature Conservancy)
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Environmental quality
- Air quality improvement
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
- Water security
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Improving physical health
- Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
- Inclusive governance
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social justice and equity
- Environmental education
- Sense of community and community engagement
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Climate-Related Hazards
- Heat stress & Extreme temperatures
- Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
- Physical health harm (from pollution, wildfire, extreme temperature)
- Inadequate access to recreational opportunities
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Social Justice and community
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of any other green urban spaces, Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Educational and awareness raising programs, Strategy, plan or policy development, Creation of city-wide or neighborhood climate adaptation or mitigation strategies/programs, Community-based programs (e.g. "Green Your Laneway Program"), Improved governance of green or blue areas, Establishment of inclusive governance mechanisms involving local communities
Project objectives
The primary goals of the Heat Action Planning intervention in the Lindo Park-Roesley Park neighborhood are:
1. Reduce heat-related health risks, improve outdoor comfort, offer recreational spaces, and enhance overall well-being for residents by increasing green infrastructure through planting trees and creating shade
2. To enhance community resilience by building community capacity to cope with extreme heat through participation in decision making processes, education, outreach, and support programs
3. To improve air quality and water management: Address the interconnected issues of air pollution and water scarcity through green infrastructure solutions and selecting drought-tolerant tree species to address water scarcity through better stormwater management
4. To promote social equity and ensure that the benefits of heat mitigation strategies are equitably distributed among residents
5. To create a more sustainable neighborhood and foster a greener and more resilient community (1-7).
Implementation activities
The Heat Action Planning in the Lindo Park-Roesley Park Neighborhood project focused on developing strategies to mitigate the effects of extreme heat in the community. There were numerous activities the project engaged in to reach the objectives:
1. 1 workshop was held and surveys were distributed to identify residents' priorities and concerns related to heat - targeting low-income, elderly citizens and vulnerable communities
2. Gathering data on surface temperatures, tree canopy coverage, and demographic information to inform decision-making
3. Collaboration with local organizations, government agencies, and businesses to leverage resources and expertise
4. Planting trees (drought-tolerant tree species), installing shade structures, and creating cooling spaces within the neighborhood
5. Providing information to residents about heat-related health risks, energy efficiency, and water conservation through workshops, surveys, and volunteer opportunities
6. Working with policymakers to advocate for supportive policies and funding (1-7).
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Increase urban vegetation cover to reduce urban heat island effect
- Reducing socio-economic vulnerability to climate impacts (e.g. awareness raising)
Communities vulnerable to environmental hazards or climate change impacts
Yes
Specification of climate or environmentally vulnerable communities
Low-income neighborhoods, Urban heat islands, Minority or marginalized ethnic groups
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Young people and children
- Marginalized groups: Children, young people or youth groups , Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed), Disadvantaged ethnic or racial groups, Vulnerable populations in disaster-prone areas
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Non-government organisation/civil society
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Dissemination of information and education
- Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The Nature Conservancy led the project, providing expertise on environmental concerns and strategies for effective community engagement, while the Central Arizona Conservation Alliance contributed valuable local knowledge and established connections with community members. Support also came from the Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network, which offered research and technical expertise, and from Arizona State University, whose researchers conducted in-depth analysis and developed a comprehensive Heat Action Plan. The Maricopa County Department of Public Health offered essential expertise on heat-related health risks, guiding the project’s approach to understanding and addressing the effects of extreme heat on vulnerable populations. The project relied heavily on community workshops to identify residents' key concerns. The Heat Action Plan included residents' proposals for improving improving communication with decision-makers (1-2).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(This project is part of the larger Heat Action Planning Guide for neighborhoods of greater Phoenix which focus' on creating climate adaptation strategies for rising temperatures within three of the most 'at -risk' neighborhoods (2). The heat action planning guide is a part of Phoenix's Climate Action Plan (8). )
Type of enablers
NGOs/Community groups driving the implementation, City network or regional partnerships focused on climate change, sustainability, GI or NBS in the city
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Funds provided by non-governmental organization (NGO)
Type of funding
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of labour
- Provision of expertise
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Lowered local temperature
- Expected lowered local temperature
- Prevent the frequency and/or intensity of heatwaves
- Expected prevent the frequency and/or intensity of heatwaves
- Environmental quality
- Improved air quality
- Expected improved air quality
- Water management and blue areas
- Improved stormwater management
- Achieved improved stormwater management
- Green space and habitat
- Increased number of species present
- Achieved increased number of species present
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved liveability
- Expected improved liveability
- Health and wellbeing
- Improved physical health
- Expected improved physical health
- Reduced risk of heatstroke and/or dehydration
- Expected reduced risk of heatstroke and/or dehydration
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Improvement in people’s connection to nature
- Expected improvement in people’s connection to nature
- Increased sense of place identity, memory and belonging
- Expected increased sense of place identity, memory and belonging
- Increased awareness of flora and fauna as culturally and historically meaningful
- Expected increased awareness of flora and fauna as culturally and historically meaningful
- Safety
- Improved community safety to climate-related hazards
- Expected improved community safety to climate-related hazards
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
Yes
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Unknown
References
1.
The Nature Conservancy, Maricopa County Department of Public Health, Central Arizona Conservation Alliance, Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network, Arizona State University’s Urban Climate Research Center, and Center for Whole Commun (2019). Heat Action Plan for Lindo Park-Roesley Park Neighborhood, South Phoenix. [Source link];
2.
Messerschmidt, M., Guardaro, M., Hondula, D., White, J., Berisha, V., Feagan, M., Grimm, N. and Beute, S. (2019). Nature’s Cooling Systems Project for Heat Action Planning in Greater Phoenix . [Source link];
3.
Hampson, S. (2019). The Heat is On: Phoenix Continues its Search for a Sustainable and Healthy Future. [Source link];
4.
Cadava, G. (2023). Surviving the Phoenix Heat. [Source link];
5.
Guardaro, M., Messerschmidt, M., Hondula, D., Grimm, N., and Redman, C. (2020). Building community heat action plans story by story: A three neighborhood case study. Elsevier Ltd. , [Source link];
6.
Porter, C. (2020). Adapting to Climate Change in The Valley of the Sun. [Source link];
7.
Kaplan, S. (2020). How America’s hottest city will survive climate change. The Washington Post, [Source link];
8.
City of Phoenix (2021). Climate Action Plan. [Source link];
LINDO PARK-ROESLEY PARK NEIGHBORHOOD
https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/Arizona-Heat-Action-Plan-Lindo-Park-Roesley-Park.pdf
LINDO PARK-ROESLEY PARK NEIGHBORHOOD
https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/Arizona-Heat-Action-Plan-Lindo-Park-Roesley-Park.pdf
LINDO PARK-ROESLEY PARK NEIGHBORHOOD
https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/Arizona-Heat-Action-Plan-Lindo-Park-Roesley-Park.pdf
LINDO PARK-ROESLEY PARK NEIGHBORHOOD
https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/Arizona-Heat-Action-Plan-Lindo-Park-Roesley-Park.pdf
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.