Extreme heat is the single deadliest natural disaster in most years. As temperatures rise, heat deaths, already near half a million people every year, may rise by an additional 50% by 2050. Cities are where the mounting impacts of extreme heat are most acutely felt. The urban heat island effect is causing cities to warm at twice the global average rate and contributing to health challenges and heat-related deaths. Every element of city life—from the economy to human wellbeing to the built environment—is being impacted by extreme heat will continue to be as climate change intensifies.

However, the choices we make in how we build, manage and live in our cities can produce significant cooling effects, improving health, making cities more livable and equitable, saving energy and saving lives. How people experience heat is influenced by more than just the climate. As the planet warms, our overheated cities can be cooled with smart infrastructure choices, like reflective roofs, walls and streets; urban forests and green spaces; and permeable surfaces.

WRI, with support from Google.org, is working with cities and urban decision-makers to improve the uptake of “cool infrastructure” solutions. Recognizing that cities and communities often lack data to plan, fund, deploy and track solutions to urban heat, we work to understand the data needs of key stakeholders, develop data and tools to meet their needs, and assist with converting analysis to more sustainable infrastructure choices. The resources and tools developed through this project are purpose-built to inform city leaders and urban planners who are best positioned to introduce cooling infrastructure in their cities. However, the data and tools can also benefit and empower communities and individual residents with information they can use to lower their heat exposure at the hyperlocal scale.

Our strategy consists of three elements:

Provide innovative data to fill gaps in critical information

We develop datasets capable of providing actionable information on extreme heat and solutions to more of the world and of answering questions important to stakeholders.

Build data analysis applications that enable insight and action

We provide fit-for-purpose information to decision-makers through understanding what information really matters to them and developing applications that provide locally relevant and stakeholder-specific insights to enable policies and investments in cool infrastructure.

Scale through communities of practice

We work with partners to deploy new data and insights applications across global networks of local governments, businesses and other urban stakeholders, improving decision-making at scale.

Photo by WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities