Urban Heat Island is a problem. Explain Urban Heat Island.

Explain various mitigation strategies for Urban Heat Island such as heat resistant roofs.

The negative effects of urban heat island disproportionately affect the poorest parts of the city. Include discussion of “Redlining” and how America’s racist housing policies in the past resulted in poor parts of the city have a lot less parks and green space.

Poorer neighborhoods have less parks and green spaces and more concrete than wealthier neighborhoods. Poorer neighborhoods are often the hottest part of the city and the effects of extreme heat affect the poor more. The most cost effective ways to help the poor is investing in parks and planting trees in their neighborhoods.

Adding and improving “Green Space” and Trees helps 1: cope with rising heat 2: Filters air pollution and 3: Boosts Mental Health.

San Antonio has a dark legacy of Redlining and neglecting investment in poor neighborhoods. San Antonio’s poor suffer most from the effects of Urban Heat Island.

What we propose is investing 1 million dollars into the greening and improving of San Antonio’s parks with an emphasis on poorer areas. Money for trees will be prioritized to neighborhoods with the highest “Hardship Index.” We will use the Brooking’s Institutes’ Hardship Index to distribute money for trees to the areas that need it most. We are choosing one million dollars because it is the amount the city of Denver earmarked in 2019 for planting trees in the city. (Include discussion and explanation of Brookings Institute’s Hardship Index).

This investment in trees and improving green spaces will benefit the residents of San Antonio who are most affected by Urban Heat Island and can redress historic injustices that result from redlining.

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Helpful Links:

1) Key article: Improving City Parks to help the city’s poor in Denver:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/30/climate/city-parks.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20201001&instance_id=22691&nl=the-morning&regi_id=81847248&section_index=2&section_name=the_latest_news&segment_id=39520&te=1&user_id=f832d9ab85e3fee8d4b574bd56344707

2) Article how “Racist Housing Policy” lead to poorer neighborhoods being hotter:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/24/climate/racism-redlining-cities-global-warming.html

3) Article that poorer neighborhoods suffer more from Urban Heat Island:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/09/climate/city-heat-islands.html

4) Article on the Brooking Institution Hardship Index to compare cities and how San Antonio zipcodes breakdown:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/san-antonio-and-the-geography-of-poverty_b_59cbcc8ce4b02ba6621ff986