136 The Oklahoma City Urban Heat Health hub shows several maps that explore vulnerability. Equally important, the analysis made it clear that, as in other cities, communities need to develop additional strategies for addressing rising temperatures. Planting trees and other landscaping is important, but more is required to bring relief to the hottest areas. “What we’ve had in place over the past 10 or 15 years, it has not worked,” said Sarah Terry-Cobo, associate planner in the planning department’s Office of Sustainability, commenting on the tree planting and landscaping effort in the city’s northwest. New Technologies Improve Awareness of Changing Conditions Oklahoma City is one of 18 communities around the world chosen to join the 2023 CAPA Heat Watch program, which is funded by NOAA. The program, implemented by CAPA Strategies, a consultant, brings together local partners and residents to map and study how heat is distributed in their communities. Past participants have used the results to promote resilience in public health, urban forestry, and other areas. The interactive, color-coded, GIS-based maps that Oklahoma City’s team commissioned combine temperature data from NOAA with local temperature data collected by volunteers. Merging the two types of data, NOAA develops a heat index to better assess how hot it feels to the human body at a given time and place. The heat index also considers humidity levels and other factors. For Oklahoma City’s project, analysts looked at summertime temperatures, air quality readings, and demographic information such as age and poverty levels within US census tracts. The city’s heat maps, a related dashboard, surveys, and other research are published on a site created with ArcGIS Hub called Heat Health in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City residents can explore Heat Watch Oklahoma City to see the impact of heat islands and how their neighborhood is faring.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA2NTE0Mw==