The results from an Urban Heat Mapping Campaign led by Framingham State University’s Christa McAuliffe Center in July are in, providing hard evidence of the increased burden of extreme temperatures on people living in urban areas.

一个由42名志愿者组成的团队聚集了近50人,7月13日进行了000次温度测量, 2023年沿着弗雷明汉的7条路线, 纳蒂克, Ashland and Holliston. 在一天中最热的时候, temperatures along more urban portions of the route came in at 91.1华氏度和80华氏度.在不太城市化的地区是9华氏度.

“虽然仅限于夏天的一天, this snapshot in time of temperature distribution gives us a clear picture of how the burden of extreme heat is not shared equally among our community,博士说。. 艾琳·波罗，麦考利夫中心主任. “Residents living in urban, densely populated areas face greater exposure to extreme heat. These residents also tend to be less likely to have the resources to protect themselves from this exposure.”

The data gathered in July was synthesized and put into a report by CAPA Strategies, a company specializing in climate adaptation planning and analytics. Community stakeholders can now use the information in the CAPA report to plan more in-depth studies in support of mitigation and adaptation strategies, 据Porro说.

“This is just the first step in the process,” she says. “Ultimately we want this data and the new studies the data will inform to help the local municipalities involved to generate policy recommendations to promote long-term, 公平的解决方案.”

使用这些数据, local communities can investigate the relationships between heat and the built environment using land use, canopy cover and impervious surface data; assess social vulnerability factors like age and income; and calculate impacts in specific sectors such as energy and public housing, according to CAPA Strategies.

“The data may help identifying priority areas for tree planting, 在高需求地区规划弹性中心, or understanding how much heat is present along transportation routes to schools,该公司在其执行摘要中写道.

The Heat Mapping Campaign is part of the 2023 National Integrated Heat 健康 Information System (NIHHIS) 城市热岛测绘活动. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 政府 (NOAA) has provided funding to Climate Adaptation Planning and Analytics (CAPA) Strategies to support campaigns for communities in 2023.

The effort has involved a close collaboration between Framingham State University’s McAuliffe Center as the lead organizer, and officials and volunteers from the City of Framingham and Towns of Ashland, Holliston and 纳蒂克.

热监视活动-弗雷明汉 & MetroWest Leadership Team

Irene Porro, Director, Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University – Project Lead

Shawn Luz, 可持续性 Coordinator for the City of Framingham

Samantha Riley, 可持续性 Project Manager for the Town of Ashland

Jillian Wilson-Martin, Director of 可持续性 for the Town of 纳蒂克

Matt Zettek, 可持续性 Coordinator for the Town of Holliston

Sasha Shyduroff, Principal Planner, Clean Energy Department, Metropolitan Area Planning Council