Ladd Keith

Interests

Teaching

urban planning, climate change, climate action planning, resilience, adaptation, extreme heat, urban heat, heat governance

Research

urban planning, climate change, climate action planning, resilience, adaptation, extreme heat, urban heat, heat governance

Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Books

• Keith, L., & Meerow, S. (2022). Planning for Urban Heat Resilience. Planning Advisory Services (PAS) Report 600.. Chicago, IL: American Planning Association.
  More info

  In the summer of 2021, record-breaking extreme heat events struck communities across the world. The unprecedented U.S. Pacific Northwest and Western Canadian heat wave took communities by surprise. Records were broken across the region, from larger cities such as Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver to smaller towns like Lytton in British Columbia. Lytton hit 121°F (49.5°C), the highest temperature ever recorded in Canada, and then tragically, was destroyed when a wildfire swept through the drought and heat-stressed forest a few days later. Record-breaking heat waves also struck historically hotter climates like the U.S. Southwest, where records were broken in cities such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Tucson.As average global temperatures rise, heat is increasing. This includes the frequency, length, and intensity of extreme heat events, such as heat waves, and the threat of chronic heat. Heat is already the number one weather-related killer in the United States, and heat impacts are projected to increase astemperatures continue to rise. While extreme heat events are dangerous everywhere, in climates that are already hot, chronic hot temperatures are an equally dangerous threat, often leading to more heat deaths than recognized extreme heat events.Heat also affects communities’ quality of life, local economic activity, energy and water use, wildlife, vegetation and landscaping, infrastructure, and agriculture. These negative consequences disproportionately affect marginalized residents and those who face systematic inequities such as workplace safety, housing quality, energy affordability, transportation reliability, and healthcare access. Both climate change and the urban heat island (UHI)effect, in which the form and function of the built environment make urban areas hotter than their rural and natural surroundings, are contributing to these rising heat risks. The way communities are planned, including land uses that shape the built environment, influences both the emission of greenhouse gases that create climate change and the UHI effect. Because planning shapes heat risk, and the profession has a responsibility to foster equity and inclusion, planners will be key practitioners in helping their communities pursue approaches and strategies to achieve greater heat resiliency.Urban heat resilience means proactively mitigating and managing urban heat across the many systems and sectors it affects. This PAS Report, Planning for Urban Heat Resilience, seeks to elevate heat as a climate risk in the urban planning profession. The report lays out the complexity of heat, outlines the role of planners in equitably addressing heat, and presents a framework for how planners can mitigate and manage heat across a variety of plans, policies, and actions.

Chapters

• Keith, L. (2022). Adaptation to Urban Heat in Tucson. In Planning for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation. Planning Advisory Services (PAS) Report 601.(pp 113-115). Chicago, IL: American Planning Association.
  More info

  The Earth's climate is changing rapidly, and the rate of change is accelerating. The climate crisis requires communities to mitigate future climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and adapt the built and natural environments to the changes already taking place or anticipated to take place in the future.Success can only be achieved through a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach, which starts with planning for sustainable and resilient outcomes that meet the needs of today while anticipating the requirements of future generations. Planners in all sectors will be required to not only be a part of the solution, but to lead it.PAS Report 601, Planning for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation, provides an overview of the necessary information and tools needed by planners to take leadership roles in helping their communities respond to climate change. It summarizes essential historical and scientific background information so that planners can be informed participants in future collaborative discussions about climate change, and it offers comprehensive guidance on climate mitigation and adaptation so that planners are better prepared to advance climate resilience in their communities.  Climate change is the defining challenge of our time, and climate action requires fundamental changes to the built environment, local and regional economies, and social norms. To ensure sustainable and equitable outcomes, planning for climate change will require a comprehensive, visionary, and systems-oriented response based on robust and informed community engagement and facilitation, consensus building, and prioritization — placing planners as uniquely qualified to take a leadership role in building a climate-resilient future. The time for action is now.

Journals/Publications

• Iuliano, J. E., & Keith, L. (2024). Shifting Gears: A case study of bicycle planning and decision-making in Tucson, Arizona. Active Travel Studies, 4(1). doi:10.16997/ats.1506
  More info

  Planners face a complex process from planning projects to final construction and evaluation in bicycle planning. Planners tend to coordinate with peers in neighboring cities, advocates, politicians, other policymakers, and researchers to implement cycling plans. Documenting this decision-making process and the sources of information that guide decisions can provide insight into creating better cycling planning research and fostering stronger collaborations. We first examine the history of bicycle planning in Tucson, Arizona, to contextualize current planning efforts and the shift toward mobility planning. Then, we present findings from interviews with Tucson planners and an advocate to explore information sources, collaboration, barriers, and opportunities for action for bicycle planning. Our results highlight the need for research presented in consumable ways, particularly through professional networks, and the potential for university outreach offices to assist in public participation and outreach, professional education, and collaboration on data collection and analysis on cycling projects. Focusing on these avenues can strengthen the science to decision-making pipeline. These lessons can also help improve bicycle planning in other communities.
• Meerow, S., Keith, L., Roy, M., & Trego, S. (2024).

  Plan evaluation for heat resilience: Complementary methods to comprehensively assess heat planning in Tempe and Tucson, Arizona

  . Environmental Research Letters, 19(8), 084050. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ad5d05
  More info

  Escalating impacts from climate change and urban heat are increasing the urgency for communities to equitably plan for heat resilience. Cities in the desert Southwest are among the hottest and fastest warming in the US, placing them on the front lines of heat planning. Urban heat resilience requires an integrated planning approach that coordinates strategies across the network of plans that shape the built environment and risk patterns. To date, few studies have assessed cities' progress on heat planning. This research is the first to combine two emerging plan evaluation approaches to examine how networks of plans shape urban heat resilience through case studies of Tempe and Tucson, Arizona. The first methodology, Plan Quality Evaluation for Heat Resilience, adapts existing plan quality assessment approaches to heat. We assess whether plans meet 56 criteria across seven principles of high-quality planning and the types of heat strategies included in the plans. The second methodology, the Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™ (PIRS™) for Heat, focuses on plan policies that could influence urban heat hazards. We categorize policies by policy tool and heat mitigation strategy and score them based on their heat impact. Scored policies are then mapped to evaluate their spatial distribution and the net effect of the plan network. The resulting PIRS™ for Heat scorecard is compared with heat vulnerability indicators to assess policy alignment with risks. We find that both cities are proactively planning for heat resilience using similar plan and strategy types, however, there are clear and consistent opportunities for improvement. Combining these complementary plan evaluation methods provides a more comprehensive understanding of how plans address heat and a generalizable approach that communities everywhere could use to identify opportunities for improved heat resilience planning.
• Watkins, L., Brown, H. E., Keith, L., Cox, H. L., Austhof, E., Chambers, S., Tabor, J., Gettel, A., & Guardaro, M. (2024). A co-produced workflow for addressing inequities in cooling center access.. Community Science, 3(4), e2023CSJ000038. doi:10.1029/2023CSJ000038
• Chambers, S., Boyce, G. A., Martinez, D. E., Bongers, C., & Keith, L. (2023). The contribution of physical exertion to heat-related illness and death in the Arizona borderlands. Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology, 46(2023), 100590. doi:10.1016/j.sste.2023.100590
  More info

  Recent studies and reports suggest an increased mortality rate of undocumented border crossers (UBCs) in Arizona is the result of heat extremes and climatic change. Conversely, others have shown that deaths have occurred in cooler environments than in previous years. We hypothesized that human locomotion plays a greater role in heat-related mortality and that such events are not simply the result of exposure. To test our hypothesis, we used a postmortem geographic application of the human heat balance equation for 2,746 UBC deaths between 1990 and 2022 and performed regression and cluster analyses to assess the impacts of ambient temperature and exertion. Results demonstrate exertion having greater explaining power, suggesting that heat-related mortality among UBCs is not simply a function of extreme temperatures, but more so a result of the required physical exertion. Additionally, the power of these variables is not static but changes with place, time, and policy.
• Chambers, S., Brown, H. E., Keith, L., & Austhof, E. (2023). Development of a Geographic Human Heat Balance Equation to Support Public Health Analyses: An Arizona Urban Sun Corridor application. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment., 32(2023), 101009. doi:10.1016/j.rsase.2023.101009
  More info

  Land surface temperature (LST) estimates often serve as urban heat islands maps and to infer human thermal comfort. Parallel to this, physiological heat balance calculations have been well documented to measure changes in body core temperature and measure risk of heat-related illness. However, there is a need for an improved spatially explicit method to assess human thermal comfort. Using spatial climate data measuring temperature, airflow, and humidity, we developed a geographic body heat storage (BHS) model based on heat exchange and evaporative heat loss from the human body. As proof of concept, we used heat-related illness emergency department visits in two Arizona metropolitan areas to demonstrate that BHS can improve LST's shortcomings, with its increased explanatory power of and linear fit to emergency records. The BHS model can support decision making for public health outcomes as heat risk increases with climate change and urban overheating to more closely approximate the human heat experience. BHS allows can be implemented in different climate regions and with investigations of additional physiological and community variables to better describe risk of heat-related illness.
• Crisman, J., Keith, L., Sami, I., & Garfin, G. M. (2023). Designing Chill City: An interactive game supporting public learning about urban planning for extreme heat. The Journal of Environmental Education, 54(3), 225-239. doi:10.1080/00958964.2023.2183173
  More info

  Climate change and the urban heat island (UHI) effect are increasing extreme heat risk in cities across the world, and have already made extreme heat the top weather-related cause of death in the United States. Despite this, understanding of viable strategies to address extreme heat is still limited, for both decision-makers and the public. Using a design-based research methodology, we developed an interactive educational game, Chill City, which teaches players about possible heat planning strategies and their tradeoffs. We surveyed adult, non-expert players to understand the game’s reception and impacts. Players expressed that they enjoyed the game and that it helped them better understand heat planning strategies and the environmental, social, and economic tradeoffs associated with them. We argue that environmental games offer educational potential for adult learners on issues of extreme heat and climate change that should be further explored to inform effective approaches and designs.
• Hughes, H. B., Breshears, D. D., Cook, K. J., Keith, L., & Burger, J. R. (2023). Household energy use response to extreme heat evaluated with a biophysical model of temperature regulation: An Arizona case study. PLOS Climate, 2(4), e0000110. doi:10.1371/journal.pclm.0000110
  More info

  Rising temperatures associated with climate change are impacting household energy use. Many of today’s industrial-technological-urban humans thermoregulate in the face of varying temperatures using extra-metabolic energy use for heating and cooling our indoor microclimates. Previously, household energy use as a function of temperature change over seasons and time has been described using a three-part model of thermoregulation, the Extra-Metabolic Scholander-Irving model (EMSI), where energy use is lowest in the thermal neutral zone around room temperature and increases in colder and hotter temperatures. However, the EMSI model has only been evaluated for moderately warm cities to date, covering only two parts of the three-part model and lacking evaluation of data for extremely hot temperatures. We show that household energy use in Arizona, a U.S. state that includes hot semi-arid environments, varies across topography, and increases in response to the hottest summer months–exemplifying the third part of the EMSI model. Additionally, household energy use is lowest in the spring and fall and increases in response to colder temperatures in the winter. This relationship has hysteresis related to differences in household income; service regions with lower-income households delay the onset of extra-metabolic energy use for cooling. We use this model to gain predictive insights into energy use demand due to ongoing warming in the context of the desert city of Yuma, Arizona, where a relatively small increase in mean temperatures of ~1.5°C since the Industrial Revolution produced a 20-day increase (6%) in cooling days annually. Our study expands the EMSI model of thermal regulation to the previously missing hot part of the model, thereby gaining insights into the unique challenges of sustaining extra-metabolic thermoregulation in the face of global warming.
• Keith, L., Gabbe, C., & Schmidt, E. L. (2023). Urban Heat Governance: Examining the Role of Urban Planning. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 25(5), 642-662. doi:10.1080/1523908X.2023.2244446
  More info

  Heat is an increasing climate risk for cities due to climate change and the urban heat island effect. Extreme heat has inequitable impacts across social, economic, and urban environmental systems. Despite increasing awareness of heat risk, the planning and governance structures for mitigating and managing heat are less understood than those for other climate risks. We studied five large, climatically-diverse U.S. cities to better understand urban heat governance with a focus on the field of urban planning. We first conducted a plan evaluation of these cities’ comprehensive, climate action, and hazard mitigation plans (n = 14) and then interviewed urban planners, resilience professionals, hazard mitigation planners, emergency managers, and public health professionals (n = 22). We found that aspects of heat planning occur across a variety of municipal plans but only a small number of strategies were explicitly framed in terms of heat, suggesting an opportunity to better connect heat with other policy goals. Urban planners tended to play a backseat role relative to other professions, despite the field’s importance for reducing heat-related inequity. Better understanding the role of urban planning within broader governance structures can help policymakers to best engage in heat mitigation and management.
• Keith, L., Meerow, S., Jensen, L., Trego, S., Schmidt, E., & Berke, P. (2023). Evaluating urban heat mitigation across networks of plans. Journal of Planning Education and Research. doi:10.1177/0739456X231215780
  More info

  Cities must equitably plan for heat resilience as heat risks increase but lack integrated approaches to coordinate strategies across community plans and prioritize heat mitigation for the most vulnerable communities. We adapted the Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™ (PIRS™) methodology, originally developed for flood hazards, to heat and piloted it in five geographically diverse U.S. cities. We used PIRS™ for Heat to analyze how policies across community plans would affect urban heat and compared spatial patterns in policy attention with indicators of vulnerability. We find that heat mitigation policies are not targeting the highest heat risk areas.
• Sami, I., & Keith, L. (2023). How do streetcar transit users and streetcar decision-makers perceive heat risk?. Journal of Public Transportation, 25(2023), 100045. doi:10.1016/j.jpubtr.2023.100045
  More info

  The thermal comfort perceptions of transit users at streetcar stops are critical to their overall ridership experience and health. Extreme heat is increasing due to climate change and the urban heat island effect, exposing transit users to greater heat stress. Through a survey of streetcar users and interviews with streetcar decision-makers, we explored the outdoor thermal comfort perceptions and transit stop design preferences of the Sun Link streetcar in Tucson, Arizona. Perceptions of heat among streetcar users varied by stop, with survey data revealing that 82.4 % of users reported feeling hot at the stops. Additionally, 56.08 % of users surveyed reported that more shade and trees would improve their thermal comfort. Heat risk is recognized by most decision-makers at Sun Link streetcar, primarily for their employees but also for users. Decision-makers reported needing additional resources to address transit user heat risk. We recommend increased awareness about extreme heat and heat resilience strategies at the stops, such as more shade and more frequent service, to help improve users’ thermal experience. Other transit systems facing increasing heat should also consider increasing heat risks and the thermal comfort perceptions of their users.
• Trego, S., Meerow, S., & Keith, L. (2023). Heat planning in small and medium-sized cities: A Collaborative application of PIRS™ for Heat in Kent, WA, USA. Socio-Ecological Practice Research, 5(4), 409-422. doi:10.1007/s42532-023-00166-6
  More info

  Extreme heat is among the deadliest climate-related hazards with social and ecological impacts. Heat risks are increasing due to climate change and characteristics of the built environment, particularly in urban areas. Many larger and well-resourced cities are making progress on heat initiatives, such as creating heat action plans and pursuing strategies to mitigate heat. Less is known though about how small and medium-sized cities, often with fewer resources and more limited planning capacity, are addressing heat risks. To address the lack of understanding of heat planning in understudied cities, we collaborate with local planning practitioners to apply the Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™ (PIRS™) for Heat method to assess heat mitigation planning in Kent, WA. We categorize, score, and spatially analyze policies in the city’s plans based on their potential to mitigate heat and compare the results with indicators of physical heat hazard and social vulnerability to identify opportunities for improved heat planning. We engaged iteratively with practitioners throughout the research process, from developing the research question to the plan selection, policy mapping, and interpretation of the results. Results suggest that heat planning is in its infancy. Planned policies with the potential to mitigate heat, mostly by reducing waste heat or urban greening, tend to rely heavily on a small subset of possible policy tools, notably capital improvements. These policies areconcentrated in more socially vulnerable areas of the city, but those areas may not experience the hottest temperatures. Additionally, city officials found the process and results helpful for future heat planning and believe it will increase collaboration between city departments to address heat. More broadly, this study provides insights about the potential for PIRS™ for Heat to be used to co-produce heat planning knowledge.
• Brown, H. E., Keith, L., Madera-Garcia, V., Taylor, A., Ramirez, N. M., & Ogata, I. (2022). Greening up for mosquitoes: A comparison of green stormwater infrastructure in a semi-arid region. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association, 38(2), 109–112. doi:doi.org/10.2987/21-7055
  More info

  Green stormwater infrastructure provides environmental, economic, and health benefits as a strategy for building resilience against climate change impacts. However, it may inadvertently increase vulnerability due to improper design and construction or lack of maintenance. We engaged city stakeholders and a diverse student group to investigate possible maladaptation. After rain events, student interns collected data at green stormwater infrastructure, identified in partnership with city stakeholders, for both water retention and mosquito larvae, if present. During the sampling period in 2018, 24 rain events occurred, with 28 sites visited 212 times including visits to basins (63%), curb cuts (34%), and a bioswale (2%). The largest basin consistently retained water (mean: 3.3 days, SD: 2.3 days) and was a positive site for Culex quinquefasciatus, a West Nile virus vector. We found that while basins can become mosquito breeding habitat, there was no evidence that curb cuts were collecting and retaining water long enough. As cities turn to green stormwater infrastructure to address climate change impacts of increasing drought, flooding, and extreme heat, these findings can help in the selection of appropriate infrastructure design typologies.
• Iuliano, J. E., & Keith, L. (2022). Near Misses and Split Routes: Comparing Rider Behavior, Driver Interaction, and Route Choice for Cyclists. Journal of Transportation Safety & Security, 15(11), 1148-1171. doi:10.1080/19439962.2022.2155745
  More info

  The built environment, cyclist behavior, and driver interactions can influence route choice and, ultimately, cyclist safety. Recent studies use crowdsourced data, such as Strava, to document route selection; however, aggregated data may not fully explain the factors underpinning route selection. Utilizing naturalistic methods, we analyze videos of recorded rides and GPS data from six cyclists representing three types of riders—commuters, recreational, and athletes—to explore route choices, behavior, and driver interactions in Tucson, Arizona. Our analysis of three route selection cases highlights how intersection design, driver interactions, pavement conditions, and type of riding lead cyclists to modify behaviors and select longer detours to avoid unsafe intersections. Additionally, our study combines Strava heatmaps and physical bicycle counts to explore the number of cyclists potentially facing similar factors influencing route choice. By studying cyclists with different riding aims and utilizing both Strava heatmaps and video recordings, researchers can determine the underlying conditions, identify route locations in need of improvements, and collaborate with practitioners to implement changes to increase cyclist safety through appropriate solutions. This analysis can help ensure that designs meet user expectations.
• Keith, L., Iroz-Elardo, N., Austof, E., Sami, Z., & Arora, M. (2021). Extreme heat at outdoor COVID-19 vaccination sites. The Journal of Climate Change and Health, 4, 100043. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joclim.2021.100043
  More info

  Extreme heat is an increasing climate risk due to climate change and the urban heat island (UHI) effect and can jeopardize points of dispensing (PODs) for COVID-19 vaccination distribution and broader public health emergency preparedness (PHEP) response operations. These PODs were often located on large parking lot sites with high heat severity and did not take heat mitigation or management strategies into account for unacclimated workers and volunteers. To investigate the personal heat exposure of workers, volunteers, and clients at three PODs in Tucson, Arizona, we collected ambient air temperatures, wet bulb globe temperatures (WBGT), surface temperatures, and thermal images. We also made qualitative observations and compared data against daily meteorological records. Ambient air temperatures at all three PODs exceeded the meteorological recorded high. WBGT on average were 8°F (4.4 °C) higher in full sun locations than shaded locations such as tents. Evaporative cooling decreased ambient air temperatures by 2°F (1.2 °C) when placed one per tent, but decreased ambient air temperatures by 7°F (3.9 °C) when placed en masse in a larger tent. Vehicle surface temperatures exceeded recommended safe limits of 140°F (60 °C) at all three sites, with a maximum temperature recorded at 170.9°F (77.2 °C). Public health professionals should consider heat resilience, including heat mitigation and management measures, in POD and PHEP response operations to reduce exposure. This includes considering the UHI effect in the siting of PODs, applying heat mitigation strategies in the design of PODs such as the adaptive use of solar panels for shading, and improving heat safety guidance for workers and volunteers.
• Keith, L., Iroz-Elardo, N., Austof, E., Sami, Z., & Arora, M. (2021). Response to correspondence on "Extreme heat at outdoor COVID-19 vaccination sites". The Journal of Climate Change and Health, 4, 100073.
  More info

  A central tenant in minimizing personal heat exposure is that context matters. In our article reporting on personal heat exposure in outdoor COVID-19 vaccination sites in Arizona, USA during spring 2021, we emphasized that heat mitigation strategies are highly specific to the underlying climatological and site design contexts. The Mungmunpuntipantip and Wiwanitkit letter illustrates the importance of context quite well. The authors highlight a valid concern of unintended consequences of COVID-19 transmission through changing humidity levels through heat mitigation strategies such as evaporative cooling.
• Keith, L., Meerow, S., Hondula, D. M., Turner, V. K., & Arnott, J. C. (2021). Deploy heat officers, policies and metrics. Nature, 598(7879), 29-31. doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02677-2
  More info

  Cities need heat governance to plan for extreme temperatures and protect those most at risk.
• Meerow, S., & Keith, L. (2021). Planning for extreme heat: A national survey of U.S. planners. Journal of the American Planning Association, 88(3), 319-334. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2021.1977682
  More info

  Extreme heat is the deadliest climate hazard in the United States. Climate change and the urban heat island effect are increasing the number of dangerously hot days in cities worldwide and the need for communities to plan for extreme heat. Existing literature on heat planning focuses on heat island mapping and modeling, whereas few studies delve into heat planning and governance processes. We surveyed planning professionals from diverse cities across the United States to establish critical baseline information for a growing area of planning practice and scholarship that future research can build on. Survey results show that planners are concerned with extreme heat risks, particularly environmental and public health impacts from climate change. Planners already report impacts from extreme heat, particularly to energy and water use, vegetation and wildlife, public health, and quality of life. Especially in affected communities, planners claim they address heat in plans and implement heat mitigation and management strategies such as urban forestry, emergency response, and weatherization, but perceive many barriers related to human and financial resources and political will.
• Austhof, E., Berisha, V., McMahan, B., Owen, G., Keith, L., Roach, M., & Brown, H. E. (2020). Participation and Engagement of Public Health Stakeholders in Climate and Health Adaptation. Atmosphere, 11(3), 265. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11030265
  More info

  Stakeholder participation at the intersection of climate and health is essential to assess and plan for the human health impacts of current and projected climate-sensitive hazards. Using the Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) Coalition on Climate Change and Public Health workgroup and the Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS) program as examples, this paper describes the important role of scientist–public health stakeholder collaboratives in addressing the public health impacts of climate-sensitive hazards. Using the MCDPH and CLIMAS stakeholder groups, stakeholder connections were mapped to show relationships between the organization types and connections between scientists and public health stakeholders. Stakeholders, defined as meeting attendees, were primarily individuals from academic institutions (n = 175), government agencies (n = 114), non-profits (n = 90), and health departments (n = 85). Engaging public health stakeholders in transdisciplinary regional climate initiatives and addressing gaps in their networks helped these programs to develop more collaborative projects over time.
• Keith, L., Meerow, S., & Wagner, T. (2019). Planning for extreme heat: A review. Journal of Extreme Events, 6(03n04), 2050003. doi:https://doi.org/10.1142/S2345737620500037
  More info

  Extreme heat is a growing concern for cities, with both climate change and the urban heat island (UHI) effect increasingly impacting public health, economies, urban infrastructure, and urban ecology. To better understand the current state of planning for extreme heat, we conducted a systematic literature review. We found that most of the research focuses on UHI mapping and modeling, while few studies delve into extreme heat planning and governance processes. An in-depth review of this literature reveals common institutional, policy, and informational barriers and strategies for overcoming them. Identified challenges include siloed heat governance and research that limit cross-governmental and interdisciplinary collaboration; complex, context-specific, and diverse heat resilience strategies; the need to combine extreme heat “risk management” strategies (focused on preparing and responding to extreme heat events) and “design of the built environment” strategies (spatial planning and design interventions that intentionally reduce urban temperatures); and the need for extensive, multidisciplinary data and tools that are often not readily available. These challenges point to several avenues for future heat planning research. Ultimately, we argue that planners have an important role to play in building heat resilience and conclude by identifying areas where scholars and practitioners can work together to advance our understanding of extreme heat planning.

Presentations

• Keith, L. (2023, April 14). Urban Heat Planning and Governance (Invited). Environmental Breakfast Club. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona, College of Law.
• Keith, L. (2023, April 20). Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™ (PIRS™) for Heat. Manchester Heat Action Platform Workshop. Virtual: Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center.
• Keith, L. (2023, August 16). Resilience Webinar: Extreme Heat #SummerReady. (Invited). FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance. Virtual: U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
• Keith, L. (2023, February 2). Advancing Heat Resilience. Perspectives on Resilience. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona, Arizona Institute for Resilience (AIR).
• Keith, L. (2023, March 9). Planning for Urban Heat Resilience (Invited). Climate Change & Cardiovascular Disease Collaborative (CCC). Virtual: Million Hearts and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Keith, L. (2023, November 16). Urban Heat Resilience (Invited). All-In Meeting. Virtual: Third Act Arizona.
• Keith, L. (2023, October 16-19). UA: Identifying Solutions to Mitigate and Manage Extreme Heat (Invited). Fourth Annual DC Summit: Health & The Environment. Washington, D.C.: University of Arizona.
• Keith, L. (2023, October 31). Improving Urban Heat Planning and Media Coverage of Extreme Heat (Invited). Tucson Urban Heat Island Workshop. Tucson, AZ: City of Tucson, Tucson Water, and CLIMAS.
• Keith, L. (2023, September 20). Tools to Assist Planners to Achieve Urban Heat Resilience (Invited Panelist). 5th UEF and 59th ISOCARP World Planning Congress. Virtual: Urban Economy Forum (UEF) and International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP).
• Keith, L. (2023, September 27-28). Plenary Session – Community Engagement and Co-Design.. 2023 Urban Integrated Field Laboratory (IFL) PI Meeting. Rockville, Maryland: U.S. Department of Energy, Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences Division.
• Keith, L., & Meerow, S. (2023, April 27). Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™ (PIRS™) for Heat (Invited). 2nd Annual NIHHIS Meeting. Virtual: U.S. National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS).
• Keith, L., Meerow, S., Jensen, L., Trego, S., Schmidt, E., & Berke, P. (2023, October 19-21). Evaluating Urban Heat Mitigation Across Networks of Plans. American Collegiate Schools of Planning 2023 Annual Conference. Chicago, Illinois: American Collegiate Schools of Planning.
• Shi, L., Dyckman, C., Keith, L., Whittington, J., Garcia, I., & Kaza, N. (2023, October 19-21). Workshop: Climate Change Task Force: Mobilizing ACSP for Transformative National Climate Research Agenda. American Collegiate Schools of Planning 2023 Annual Conference. Chicago, Illinois: American Collegiate Schools of Planning.
• Trego, S., Keith, L., Li, X., Gabbe, C., & Lim, T. (2023, October 19-21). Roundtable: Planning for Extreme Heat: A Conversation on Urban Heat Adaptation, Governance, and Equity. American Collegiate Schools of Planning 2023 Annual Conference. Chicago, Illinois: American Collegiate Schools of Planning.
• Trego, S., Meerow, S., Keith, L., & Schmidt, E. (2023, October 19-21). Science-Policy Co-production of Heat Planning Knowledge in Kent, Washington. American Collegiate Schools of Planning 2023 Annual Conference. Chicago, Illinois: American Collegiate Schools of Planning.
• Whittington, J., Pitt, D., Richter, S., Goh, K., Keith, L., & Kaza, N. (2023, October 19-21). Workshop: Building University Capacity for Transformative Climate Research and Teaching. American Collegiate Schools of Planning 2023 Annual Conference. Chicago, Illinois: American Collegiate Schools of Planning.
• Jacobs, K. L., Keith, L., Gupta, N., Leinberger, A. J., Shelton, R., & Logan, K. G. (2022, May 26). Integrating energy justice with community climate action planning. EGU General Assembly 2022. Vienna, Austria: European Geosciences Union (EGU).
• Keith, L. (2022, April 13). City of Tucson Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (Invited). Drachman Institute Relaunch. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona.
• Keith, L. (2022, April 25). (Invited Co-host and Moderator). 6th Annual Arizona Extreme Heat Planning Workshop. Virtual: Arizona Department of Health Services, National Weather Service, Arizona State University, and University of Arizona.
• Keith, L. (2022, April 26). Community Perspectives: Roundtable discussion with state and local partners to understand current priorities and challenges in heat resilience planning (Invited Presenter and Moderator). National Integrated Heat Health Information Systems (NIHHIS) National Meeting. Virtual: NIHHIS.
• Keith, L. (2022, August 19). Cool Corridors (Invited). 2022 Climate 101 Workshop. Virtual: South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (SCCASC).
• Keith, L. (2022, February 9). Planning for Extreme Heat (Invited). Lifelong Learning in Retirement at the Highlands. Marana, Arizona (Virtual): The Highlands at Dove Mountain.
• Keith, L. (2022, January 13). Planning for Extreme Heat & Equity (Invited). First Annual Symposium. Virtual: American Planning Association (APA) Sustainable Communities Division (SCD).
• Keith, L. (2022, May 11). Geospatial Online Tools for Public Participation Demonstrations (Invited Moderator). Mapping the Way Ahead: Online Geospatial Tools for Public Participation.. Washington, D.C.: University of Arizona, Udall Center.
• Keith, L. (2022, May 23). Planning for Urban Heat Resilience (Invited). Lecture Series. Virtual: Southwest Practitioners Adaptation Network (SPAN).
• Keith, L. (2022, November 14). Planning for Urban Heat Resilience (Invited). SGSUP Colloquium Series. Tempe, Arizona: Arizona State University, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (SGSUP).
• Keith, L. (2022, November 16). Planning for Urban Heat Resilience (Invited). Health and Environmental Change: Pushing Research Boundaries through Arizona-France Cooperation. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona, France-Arizona Institute for Global Grand Challenges.
• Keith, L. (2022, September 13). Heat Resilience, Climate Adaptation, and Emergency Response (Invited). Building a Resilient Neighborhood. Virtual: Sustainable Tucson.
• Keith, L. (2022, September 14). Planning for Urban Heat Resilience (Invited). Arizona Senior Academy. Vail, Arizona: Academy Village.
• Keith, L. (2022, September 9). Planning for Urban Heat Resilience (Invited). Southwest Design Share. Virtual: DLR Group.
• Keith, L., & Meerow, S. (2022, November 16). Planning for Urban Heat Resilience (Invited). 13th Urban Heat Island Workshop. Tucson, Arizona: City of Tucson and Tucson Water.
• Keith, L., & Meerow, S. (2022, November 7). Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™ (PIRS™) for Heat and PIRS™ for Heat Results for City of Tempe, AZ (Invited). Heat Resilience Workshop. Tempe, Arizona: City of Tempe.
• Keith, L., & Meerow, S. (2022, November 9). An Introduction to the Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™ (PIRS™) for Heat (Invited). Extreme Heat Risk Initiative Webinar Series. Virtual: U.S. National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS).
• Keith, L., & Meerow, S. (2022, October 6). Planning for Urban Heat Resilience (Invited). Arizona Heat Preparedness and Resilience Workgroup Meeting. Virtual: Arizona Heat Preparedness and Resilience Workgroup.
• Keith, L., & Meerow, S. (2022, September 13). Planning for Urban Heat Resilience (Invited). Local Council on Sustainability and Resilience. Virtual: Urban Land Institute, Austin.
• Keith, M. (2022, June 24). Planning for Urban Heat Resilience (Invited). Living with Climate Change: Extreme Heat. (Virtual): Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI).
• Keith, M. (2022, June 29). Extreme Heat Resilience (Invited Facilitator). Ideation Hour. Virtual: U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Resilient Nation Partnership Network (RNPN).
• Keith, M. (2022, June 29). Planning for Urban Heat Resilience (Invited). Cool Roof Outreach Quarterly Meeting. Virtual: Global Cool Cities Alliance (GCCA).
• Keith, M. (2022, May 11). Geospatial Online Tools for Public Participation Demonstrations (Invited Moderator). Mapping the Way Ahead: Online Geospatial Tools for Public Participation. Washington, D.C.: University of Arizona, Udall Center.
• Meerow, S., Keith, L., Trego, S., Schmidt, E., Jensen, L., Smith, S., Berke, P., & DeAngelis, J. (2022, November 5). The Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard for Heat. American Collegiate Schools of Planning 2022 Annual Conference. Toronto, Canada: American Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP).
• Jones, H., Keith, L., Meerow, S., & Turner, V. K. (2021, January 4-9). Advancing Urban Heat Resilience. NCSE Drawdown 2021 Conference. Virtual: National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) and Project Drawdown.
• Keith, L. (2021, April 19). Extreme Heat at Outdoor COVID-19 Vaccination Sites (Invited). State of Arizona Extreme Heat Planning Webinar. Virtual: Arizona Department of Health Services, National Weather Service, and Arizona State University.
• Keith, L. (2021, April 22). Roundtable Discussion - Climate Resilience: How Can We Get There? (Invited Facilitator). 16th Annual Trends Days. Virtual: Urban Land Institute - Arizona.
• Keith, L. (2021, February 25). Advancing the Theory and Practice of Urban Heat Resilience: Data and Information Needs (Invited). Restruct Workshop. Tucson, Arizona (Virtual): University of Arizona.
• Keith, L. (2021, July 21). Addressing Climate Risk through Equitable Community Development (Invited Panelist). Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. San Francisco (Virtual): Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
• Keith, L. (2021, July 22). Urban Heat Resilience (Invited Panelist). Wonder at Home. Tucson, Arizona (Virtual): University of Arizona Foundation.
• Keith, L. (2021, May 14). Extreme Heat Network (Invited). Network of Networks Meeting. Virtual: American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP).
• Keith, L. (2021, May 17). Extreme Heat at Outdoor COVID-19 Vaccination Sites (Invited). Restruct Virtual Symposium. Tucson, Arizona (Virtual): University of Arizona.
• Keith, L. (2021, May 5). Planning for Extreme Heat, Creating Regional Extreme Heat Resilience Plans (Invited). 2021 Carolinas Climate Resilience Conference. Virtual: U.S. NOAA Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments (CISA).
• Keith, L. (2021, November 3). National Perspectives to Local Applications (Invited). City of Tucson 12th Urban Heat Island Workshop. Virtual: City of Tucson and Tucson Water.
• Keith, L. (2021, November 8). Best Practices for Cross Governmental and Interdisciplinary Collaboration to Advance Heat Governance (Invited). Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact’s Virtual Workshop. Virtual: Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact.
• Keith, L. (2021, October 21). Plan Integration and Governance (Invited). NOAA Climate and Equity Roundtable: Heat Resilience in the U.S. Southwest. Virtual: U.S. NOAA.
• Keith, L. (2021, October 28). Prioritize and Integrate Heat Planning (Invited). National Integrated Heat Health Information Systems (NIHHIS) Urban Heat Island Community of Practice Webinar Series. Virtual: U.S. NOAA.
• Keith, L. (2021, October 7). Extreme Heat and Climate Justice (Invited). American Collegiate Schools of Planning 2021 Annual Conference. Virtual: American Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP).
• Keith, L. (2021, September 24). Planning for Urban Heat Resilience (Invited). SGDE Colloquium Series. Tucson, Arizona (Virtual): University of Arizona, School of Geography, Development and Environment.
• Keith, L. (2021, September 8). Creating Cooler Homes and Schools (Invited). Climate Adaptation Research Symposium 2021. Los Angeles, California (Virtual): UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation.
• Keith, L. (2021, September 8). Keeping Homes and Cities Cool: Heat Governance (Invited). Arizona Senior Academy. Tucson, Arizona: Academy Village.
• Keith, L., & Meerow, S. (2021, April 21). Planning for Extreme Heat in U.S. Cities. 18th Annual Climate Prediction Applications Science Workshop. Virtual: U.S. NOAA National Weather Service Climate Services Division.
• Keith, L., Gabbe, C., & Schmidt, E. L. (2021, October 7). Framing urban heat governance through five case studies. American Collegiate Schools of Planning 2021 Annual Conference. Virtual: American Collegiate Schools of Planning.
• Dimond, K., Iroz-Elardo, N., Keith, L., Wilkening, E. B., Cottrell-Crawford, P., & Wagner, T. (2020, April 5). Thermal Comparisons of Microclimates of Photovoltaic Arrays and Green Infrastructure in Schools and Parks. EDRA51. Tempe, AZ: Environmental Design Research Association.
• Iroz-Elardo, N., & Keith, L. (2020, February 5). Heat and healthy habits: supporting physical activity in an era of increased extreme heat risk. 2020 Active Living Conference. Orlando, Florida: Active Living Research.
• Keith, L. (2020, February 7). Lessons learned in the Southwest (Invited Panelist). Southwest Practitioners Adaptation Network (SWAN). Las Vegas, Nevada: Southwest Practitioners Adaptation Network (SWAN) and University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
• Keith, L. (2020, October 27). ASAP Job Seekers Professional Development (Invited Panelist). ASAP Virtual Network Meeting. Virtual: American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP).
• Keith, L. (2020, September 11). APA-AZ Mentoring session (Invited). American Planning Association, Arizona Chapter Conference. Buckeye, Arizona (Virtual): American Planning Association, Arizona Chapter.
• Keith, L. (2020, September 2). Where We Live and Work Panel (Invited Panelist). Arizona Thrives. Phoenix, Arizona (Virtual): The Nature Conservancy.
• Keith, L. (2020, September 28). Sustainable Design, Resilient Cities: The Inequities of Urban Heat (Invited). Planet Now! Conversations in Environmental Studies. Houston, Texas (Virtual): Rice University, Center for Environmental Studies.
• Keith, L. (2020, September 30). Land use, energy, buildings, and climate (Invited). Climate Change: Why accepting and responding to it matters to all of us. Sierra Vista, Arizona (Virtual): Sierra Evangelical Lutheran Church.
• Keith, L. (2020, September 4). Increasing Resilience to the Urban Heat Island (Invited). SHADE 2020: Southwest Horticulture Annual Day of Education. Tempe, Arizona (Virtual): Arizona Nursery Association.
• Keith, L., & Meadow, A. M. (2020, May 29 - June 4). Mitigating the Urban Heat Island (Invited). 29th Annual Desert Horticulture Conference. Tucson, Arizona (Virtual): University of Arizona.
• Keith, L., McMahan, B., & Wagner, T. (2020, November 5-8). Evaluating the Use of Urban Heat Island Maps for Extreme Heat Planning. American Collegiate Schools of Planning 2020 Annual Conference. Virtual: American Collegiate Schools of Planning.
• Keith, L., Meerow, S., & Wagner, T. (2020, September 21). Planning for Extreme Heat: A Review. Climate Adaptation Research Symposium 2020: Measuring and Addressing Societal Impacts. Los Angeles, California (Virtual): UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation.
• Meerow, S., & Keith, L. (2020, September 21). Planning for Resilience to Extreme Heat in U.S. Cities. Climate Adaptation Research Symposium 2020: Measuring and Addressing Societal Impacts. Los Angeles, California (Virtual): UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation.
• Austhof, E., Berisha, V., McMahan, B., Owen, G., Roach, M., Keith, L., & Brown, H. E. (2019, December 13). Engaging public health stakeholders in climate change adaptation: Lessons learned from Maricopa County, AZ and the Climate Assessment for the Southwest. Fall Meeting 2019. San Francisco, California: American Geophysical Union.
• Keith, L. (2019, April 25). Future-proofing your returns: Climate risk and your bottom line (Invited). Urban Land Institute – Arizona. Phoenix, Arizona: Urban Land Institute – Arizona.
• Keith, L. (2019, April 8). Heat data for urban planning (Invited). State of Arizona Extreme Heat Planning Workshop. Phoenix, Arizona: Arizona Department of Health Services, National Weather Service, and Arizona State University.
• Keith, L. (2019, August 7-8). Panel of social science, arts and humanities scholars (Invited Panelist). National Science Foundation – CURES Connections Workshop: New Voices and Paths to Urban Sustainability. Chicago, Illinois: University of Illinois at Chicago.
• Keith, L. (2019, December 12). Climate justice and planning for extreme heat (Invited). Restruct Built Environment Research Symposium. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona.
• Keith, L. (2019, January 10). Community planning for climate action (Invited). AMS 99th Annual Meeting - Sustainable Cities Network of Arizona Roundtable Event. Phoenix, Arizona: American Meteorological Society.
• Keith, L. (2019, January 5). Emerging needs, opportunities, and careers in climate information services: Key sector perspectives (Invited Panelist). AMS 99th Annual Meeting - Seventh Symposium on Weather, Water, and Climate Enterprise. Phoenix, Arizona: American Meteorological Society (AMS).
• Keith, L. (2019, July 7-10). (Invited Participant). National Science Foundation - Practitioner Led Urban Sustainability Symposium. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan.
• Keith, L. (2019, June 28). Planning for urban heat – Lessons from the U.S. Southwest (Invited). Urban Design Forum - Fellows Program, Turning the Heat. New York, New York (Virtual): New York City Mayor’s Office of Resiliency.
• Keith, L. (2019, May 23). Climate action student engagement (Invited). University Climate Change Coalition (UC3). Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona.
• Keith, L. (2019, November 16). Developing climate action plans: What to consider and where to start (Invited). Climate 2020: Seven Generations for Arizona. Flagstaff, Arizona: Northern Arizona University.
• Keith, L. (2019, October 18). Podcast, cli-fi, and science storytelling for climate action in the built environment (Invited Panelist). TENWEST Impact Festival. Tucson, Arizona: TENWEST.
• Keith, L. (2019, September 11). Planning for resilience in the face of climate change and changing rainfall patterns (Invited Moderator). American Planning Association, Arizona Chapter Conference. Oro Valley, Arizona: American Planning Association, Arizona Chapter.
• Keith, L., Iroz-Elardo, N., Dimond, K., & Wilkening, E. B. (2019, November 11). Heat mitigation through green infrastructure (Invited). Water Resource Research Center – Brownbag. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona, Water Resource Research Center (WRRC).
• Keith, L. (2018, March 29). Cities and communities: Can Tucson survive peak drought and warming? (Invited Panelist). Surviving Peak Drought and Warming Workshop. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona.
• Keith, L. (2018, October 2018). State of practice: The built environment in the Southwest (Invited Panelist). Southwest Adaptation Forum (SWAF). Tucson, Arizona: American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP), Southwest Adaptation Forum (SWAF), and University of Arizona.
• Keith, L. (2018, October 5). Evaluating the use of urban heat maps in planning (Invited). Urban Resilience Lightning Talks and Networking Hour. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona, Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions (CCASS).
• Keith, L. (2017, July 12). Planning for climate mitigation and resilience for cities in the U.S. Southwest (Invited). Southwest Tribal Climate Change Network Call. Tucson, Arizona (Virtual): University of Arizona, Native Nations Climate Change Adaptation Program.
• Keith, L. (2017, July 6). CLIMAS 5-year assessment update (Invited). Monthly RISA Call. Virtual: U.S. NOAA, Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) Program.
• Keith, L. (2017, September 29). Evaluating the use of urban heat island and heat increase modelling in land use planning and decision-making (Invited). CLIMAS Colloquium Series. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona, Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS).
• Keith, L. (2016, October 21). Influence of politics on planning (Invited Panelist). Brownbag Panel. Tucson, Arizona: American Planning Association, Arizona Chapter - Southern Section.
• Keith, L. (2014, March 25). The curriculum: Perspectives in building sustainability literacy into coursework (Invited). Arizona Higher Education Sustainability Conference. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona.
• Keith, L. (2013, March 21). Where do I fit into planning (Invited Moderator). Brownbag Panel. Tucson, Arizona: American Planning Association, Arizona Chapter - Southern Section.
• Keith, L. (2012, February 23). Careers in sustainability (Invited Panelist). Career Panels. Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona, Career Services.
• Keith, L. (2012, October 17). Smarter cities: Technology as a tool in real estate development and urban design (Invited Moderator). ULI Fall Meeting. Denver, Colorado: Urban Land Institute.
• Keith, L. (2011, September 28). Your first day as a planning commissioner (Invited Moderator). American Planning Association, Arizona Chapter Conference. Tucson, Arizona: American Planning Association, Arizona Chapter.
• Keith, L. (2010, November 4). Creating true community dialogue (Invited). American Planning Association, Arizona Chapter Conference. Phoenix, Arizona: American Planning Association, Arizona Chapter.

Poster Presentations

• Avila, A., Iroz-Elardo, N., Keith, L., & Currans, K. M. (2023, January 9). The Effect of Vehicles on Personal Heat Exposure. Annual Meeting of the Transportation Review Board. Washington, D.C.: Transportation Review Board.
• Keith, L., Meerow, S., Roy, M., Trego, S., Schmidt, E., Haskins, J., & Leyba, B. (2023, September 27-28). Plan Evaluation for Heat Resilience. 2023 Urban Integrated Field Laboratory (IFL) PI Meeting. Rockville, Maryland: U.S. Department of Energy, Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences Division.
• Lauren, H., Iroz-Elardo, N., Keith, L., & Currans, K. M. (2023, January 9). Urban Heat Mitigation Techniques in Transportation Planning: A Look at the Literature. Annual Meeting of the Transportation Review Board. Washington, D.C.: Transportation Review Board.
• Avila, A., Iroz-Elardo, N., Keith, L., & Currans, K. M. (2022, January 11). The Effect of Vehicles on Personal Heat Exposure: A Pilot Study. Annual Meeting of the Transportation Review Board. Washington, D.C.: Transportation Review Board.
• Sami, Z., & Keith, L. (2021, April 21). Increasing Heat Resilience Through Thermal Comfort Assessment in Sun Link Streetcar Stops, Tucson AZ. 18th Annual Climate Prediction Applications Science Workshop. Virtual: U.S. NOAA National Weather Service Climate Services Division.
• Wilkening, E. B., & Keith, L. (2021, April 21). Extreme Heat Phenomenon: A Hot Topic for Teaching and Communicating. 18th Annual Climate Prediction Applications Science Workshop. Virtual: U.S. NOAA National Weather Service Climate Services Division.
• Sami, Z., & Keith, L. (2020, January 15). Thermal comfort assessment of multimodal corridors in Tucson, Arizona to increase heat resilience. AMS 100th Annual Meeting – 15th Symposium on the Urban Environment. Boston, Massachusetts: American Meteorological Society (AMS).
• Wilkening, E. B., & Keith, L. (2019, December 9). Phenomenon: A hot topic for teaching and communicating science. Fall Meeting 2019. San Francisco, California: American Geophysical Union.

Others

• Izidine, P., Barnes, C., Philip, S., Kew, S., Cerezo-Mota, R., Tannenbaum, A., Winkley, S., Pershing, A., Vahlberg, M., Pereira Marghidan, C., Izquierdo, K., Sivanu, S., Keith, L., Kleeman, M., & Otto, F. E. (2024, June 20). Extreme heat killing more than 100 people in Mexico hotter and much more likely due to climate change. World Weather Attribution (WWA). https://doi.org/10.25561/112370
• Keith, L., Meerow, S., Roy, M., Trego, S., Barrett, K., Jordan, L., & Sadashive Gowda, K. (2024, July 31). Plan Evaluation for Heat Resilience: City of Flagstaff, AZ. Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory (SW-IFL) – Arizona State University and University of Arizona. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/674046
• Keith, L., Meerow, S., Roy, M., Trego, S., Jordan, L., Barret, K., & Sadashive Gowda, K. (2024, July 31). Plan Evaluation for Heat Resilience: City of Mesa, AZ. Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory (SW-IFL) – Arizona State University and University of Arizona. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/674047
• Keith, L., Meerow, S., Roy, M., Trego, S., Jordan, L., Sadashive Gowda, K., & Barrett, K. (2024, July 31). Plan Evaluation for Heat Resilience: City of Nogales, AZ.. Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory (SW-IFL) – Arizona State University and University of Arizona. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/674048
• Keith, L., Meerow, S., Roy, M., Trego, S., Sadashive Gowda, K., Barrett, K., & Jordan, L. (2024, July 31). Plan Evaluation for Heat Resilience: City of Casa Grande, AZ. Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory (SW-IFL) – Arizona State University and University of Arizona. https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/674045
• Brown, H. E., Keith, L., Currans, K. M., Chambers, S., Austhof, E., & McChesney, C. R. (2023, October). Cooling Center Walkshed & Transit Accessibility Analysis. University of Arizona.
• Iroz-Elardo, N., Keith, L., Currans, K. M., Avila, A., Heath, L., Little, B. J., Wissler, E. C., & Birkelbach, A. J. (2023, March). Assessing Cool Corridor Heat Resilience Strategies for Human-Scale Transportation. National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC.
• Keith, L., & Meerow, S. (2023, June 21). Growing Heat Hazards from Climate Change and the Urban Heat Island Need to Be Integrated Across Siloed Urban Plans. Here’s How. The Nature of Cities. https://www.thenatureofcities.com/2023/06/21/growing-heat-hazards-from-climate-change-and-the-urban-heat-island-need-to-be-integrated-across-siloed-urban-plans-heres-how/
• Keith, L., Meerow, S., Roy, M., Trego, S., Schmidt, E., Haskins, J., & Leyba, B. (2023, October 25). Plan Evaluation for Heat Resilience: City of Tucson, AZ. Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory (SW-IFL) – Arizona State University and University of Arizona. https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/669877
• Meerow, S., Keith, L., Roy, M., Trego, S., Schmidt, E., Haskins, J., & Leyba, B. (2023, November 14). Plan Evaluation for Heat Resilience: City of Tempe, AZ. Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory (SW-IFL) – Arizona State University and University of Arizona. https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/670109
• Trego, S., Meerow, S., Keith, L., Schmidt, E., Leyba, B., & Lindsey, J. (2023, October 25). Plan Evaluation for Heat Resilience: City of Phoenix, AZ. Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory (SW-IFL) – Arizona State University and University of Arizona. https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/670044
• West, M., & Keith, L. (2023, May 30). Creating Cool and Resilient Communities: Integrating Plans for Urban Heat Mitigation. Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN). https://ghhin.org/news/creating-cool-and-resilient-communities-integrating-plans-for-urban-heat-mitigation/
• West, M., Arrighi, J., Jones, H., Keith, L., Knowlton, K., Kumar Kolli, R., Matzarakis, A., Lee, J., Ren, C., Tan, A., & Tiwari, A. (2023, July). Reporting on Heatwaves and the Health Impacts of Heat. Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN).
• Chambers, S., Brown, H. E., Keith, L., & Austhof, E. (2022, September). Summary of Body Heat Exposure Layer Development.
• Keith, L. (2022, July). Extreme heat is here. Here’s how we create a heat-resilient nation.. Smart Cities Dive. https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/opinion-extreme-heat-local-frameworks-national-legislation-climate-change/627091/
  More info

  In the face of worsening climate change, helping communities manage heat effects will require cooperation among local, state and federal governments, one researcher writes.
• Keith, L., Meerow, S., Berke, P., DeAngelis, J., Jensen, L., Trego, S., Schmidt, E., & Smith, S. (2022, October). Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™ (PIRS™) for Heat: Spatially evaluating networks of plans to mitigate heat (Version 1.0). American Planning Association. https://www.planning.org/publications/document/9257652/
  More info

  The combination of climate change and the urban heat island (UHI) effect is increasing the number of dangerously hot days and the need for all communities to plan for urban heat resilience equitably. Urban heat resilience requires an integrated planning approach that coordinates strategies across community plans and uses the best available heat risk information to prioritize heat mitigation strategies for the most vulnerable communities. The Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™ (PIRS™) for Heat is an approach that communities can use to analyze how heat mitigation policies are integrated into different plans and to identify opportunities to better target heat mitigation policies in high heat risk areas. The PIRS™ for Heat was developed as an extension of the original Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™, a methodology, originally developed by Berke et al. (2015) and then further advanced and translated to planning practice by Malecha et al. (2019), for spatially evaluating networks of plans to reduce vulnerability to hazards. With support from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Program Office’s Extreme Heat Risk Initiative and in partnership with the American Planning Association, PIRS™ for Heat was piloted in five geographically diverse U.S. communities, including Baltimore, MD, Boston, MA, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Seattle, WA, and Houston, TX. Adapting the process detailed in Malecha et al. (2019) to heat, the project team analyzed all policies in each community’s network of plans, including their comprehensive plans, hazard mitigation plans, climate action plans, and climate change adaptation, resilience, or sustainability plans. Policies were only included if they had the potential to impact urban heat, were place-specific and contained a recognizable policy tool. Policies were then scored based on whether they would likely mitigate heat (“+1”), worsen heat (“-1”), or the impact was unclear from the description in the plan (“Unknown”). Scored policies were mapped to relevant census tracts across the communities to evaluate their spatial distribution and the net effect on urban heat. The resulting PIRS™ for Heat scorecard was then compared with physical and social vulnerability data to assess policy alignment with heat risks and to identify opportunities for improved urban heat resilience planning. This guidebook explains the rationale for the PIRS™ for Heat, provides a step-by-step guide for any practitioner or researcher interested in applying the methodology, includes a detailed and ready-to-go worksheet, and summarizes key plan integration findings from five communities across the U.S.
• Keith, L., Meerow, S., Trego, S., & Schmidt, E. (2022, November). City of Tempe, AZ: Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™ (PIRS™) for Heat.
• Keith, L., Meerow, S., Trego, S., Schmidt, E., Jensen, L., Berke, P., & DeAngelis, J. (2022, October). City of Kent, WA: Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard™ (PIRS™) for Heat. American Planning Association. https://www.planning.org/knowledgebase/urbanheat/
• Meerow, S., & Keith, L. (2022, June 13). Heat Risks are Rising in Cities Worldwide — Here Is How to Plan for Urban Heat Resilience. The Nature of Cities. https://www.thenatureofcities.com/2022/06/13/heat-risks-are-rising-in-cities-worldwide-here-is-how-to-plan-for-urban-heat-resilience/
• Van Ohlen, K., Brown, H. E., Keith, L., Austhof, E., Watkins, L., & Chambers, S. (2022, August). Summary of Pima County Cooling Center Spatial Optimization. University of Arizona.
• Keith, L., & Gerlak, A. K. (2021, August). There's no place in the US safe from the heat. The Hill. https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/568718-theres-no-place-in-the-us-safe-from-the-heat
• Keith, L., & Meerow, S. (2021, August). Urban Heat Resilience (PAS QuickNotes 95). American Planning Association, Planning Advisory Service (PAS). https://www.planning.org/publications/document/9219132/
  More info

  Heat is the deadliest weather-related hazard in the United States, posing a growing and inequitable threat to human health, infrastructure, and economic and ecological systems. Communities are getting hotter due to climate change and the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Cities across the country must prepare for unprecedented heat and address systemic inequities in heat risk.Planners considering urban heat resilience should work to help their communities equitably prepare for and adapt to both chronic and acute heat risk through heat mitigation and management. Heat mitigation includes design and planning strategies that aim to reduce the built environment’s contribution to urban heat, whereas heat management strategies prepare for and respond to heat. This edition of PAS QuickNotes explains national trends in extreme heat and describes how planners can enhance urban heat resilience for their communities through planning and implementing heat mitigation and management strategies.
• Keith, L., & Meerow, S. (2021, July). Cities must plan for heat resilience now. Thomson Reuters Foundation. https://news.trust.org/item/20210705161002-pz8g0/
• Keith, L., & Meerow, S. (2021, November). Beat the Heat with these 8 Tactics. Planning Magazine. https://www.planning.org/planning/2021/fall/beat-extreme-heat-with-these-8-tactics/
  More info

  America’s deadliest weather disaster calls for both mitigation and management strategies — and not just in the hottest months. Here's how to get started now.
• Keith, L., Iroz-Elardo, N., Sami, Z., & Austhof, E. (2021, April). Extreme Heat at Outdoor Vaccination Sites: Banner South (Kino) Report. The University of Arizona.
  More info

  Exposure to extreme heat causes more than 3,000 heat-related illness emergency room visits every year in Arizona, and has caused over 2,000 deaths in the past 10 years combined (AZDHS, 2019). Given the Tucson region’s hot summer temperatures and the current COVID-19 vaccination schedule requiring mass vaccination sites through at least May 2021, the Pima County Office of Emergency Management requested assistance in better understanding heat risk at the outdoor vaccination sites.We measured ambient temperature and wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) at the Banner South (Kino) site on April 1, 2021 from 12:00-5:00 PM. NOAA reported an average daily temperature of 77°F (range of 63-90°F) with an average wind speed of 17.3 MPH and average humidity of 10%.
• Keith, L., Iroz-Elardo, N., Sami, Z., & Austhof, E. (2021, April). Extreme Heat at Outdoor Vaccination Sites: Tucson Medical Center (TMC) Report. The University of Arizona.
  More info

  Exposure to extreme heat causes more than 3,000 heat-related illness emergency room visits every year in Arizona, and has caused over 2,000 deaths in the past ten years combined (AZDHS, 2019). Given the Tucson region’s hot summer temperatures and the current COVID-19 vaccination schedule requiring mass vaccination sites through at least May 2021, the Pima County Office of Emergency Management requested assistance in better understanding heat risk at the outdoor vaccination sites.We measured ambient temperature and wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) at the Tucson Medical Center (TMC) vaccination site on April 2, 2021 from 12:00-5:00 PM. NOAA reported an average daily temperature of 76°F (range of 62-89°F) with an average wind speed of 6.2 MPH and average humidity of 15%.
• Keith, L., Iroz-Elardo, N., Sami, Z., & Austhof, E. (2021, April). Extreme Heat at Outdoor Vaccination Sites: UArizona POD Report. The University of Arizona.
  More info

  Exposure to extreme heat causes more than 3,000 heat-related illness emergency room visits every year in Arizona, and has caused over 2,000 deaths in the past 10 years combined (AZDHS, 2019). Given the Tucson region’s hot summer temperatures and the current COVID-19 vaccination schedule requiring mass vaccination sites through at least May 2021, the Pima County Office of Emergency Management requested assistance in better understanding heat risk at the outdoor vaccination sites.We measured ambient temperature and wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) at the UArizona POD site on March 31, 2021 from 12:00-5:00 PM. NOAA reported an average daily temperature of 69°F (range of 49-88°F) with an average wind speed of 6.4 MPH, and average humidity of 13%.
• Keith, L., Brimhall, P., Dixon, J. A., Lundy, C., Nishimura, R., Callaghan, L. M., & Williams-Eynon, A. (2020, August). Dallas, Texas: Tornado Recovery Emphasizing Urban and Climate Resilience around the Walnut Hill/Denton Drive Dallas Rapid Transit Station. Urban Land Institute, Advisory Services. http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.16222.77126
  More info

  About a year after a tornado left a path of destruction across northern Dallas, the city asked ULI to convene a virtual Advisory Services panel (vASP) focusing on the area around the Walnut Hill/Denton Drive Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) station on the western edge of the tornado’s path. The panel was asked to provide recommendations on how to foster greater social cohesion within the study area’s business and demographic populations while promoting climate resilience and environmental justice.
• Meadow, A. M., Weiss, J. L., Leroy, S., & Keith, L. (2020, May). Climate Profile for the Verde Valley. University of Arizona, Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS). https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.15258.26566
  More info

  The earth’s climate is changing. Global average temperatures have risen 1.8° F since 1901. Warming temperatures are driving other environmental changes such as melting glaciers, rising sea levels, changes in precipitation patterns, and increased drought and wildfires. The magnitude of future changes will depend on the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted into our atmosphere. Without significant reductions in GHGs, global average temperatures could rise as much as 9° F over pre-industrial temperatures by the end of this century. The Verde Valley is also experiencing climatic changes that will impact temperatures, precipitation patterns, ecosystems, and human health and well-being.
• Shumake-Guillemot, J., Amar, S., Anwar, N., Arrighi, J., Bose-O'Reilly, S., Brearley, M., Cross, J., Daanen, H., de-Donato, F., Eggen, B., Flouris, A., Gerrett, N., Hagens, W., Herrmann, A., Jones, H., Keith, L., Khandekar, A., Lee, J., Lowe, R., , Matthies-Wiesler, F., et al. (2020, May 25, 2020). Protecting health from hot weather during the COVID-19 pandemic. Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN). http://www.ghhin.org/heat-and-covid-19/
  More info

  COVID-19 amplifies the health risks of hot weather, presenting individuals and local decision-makers with new challenges on the optimal ways to stay safe from both hot weather and COVID-19. Communities around the world are facing unprecedented compound risks as the health and socio-economic impacts of the pandemic exacerbate already deadly heat risks.
• Keith, L., Chang, M. B., Bonnet, J., Byrd, S., Macomber, J., Rodriguez, M., Ross, S., Steenhoek, M., Stigge, B., Valgora, J., Callaghan, L. M., & Sheppard, L. (2019, June). Miami, Florida: The Riverfront, the Bayfront, and the Ridge - A Holistic Approach to Waterfront Resilience. Urban Land Institute, Advisory Services. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.21986.27849
  More info

  As a part of Miami’s efforts to be at the forefront of resilience planning, the City of Miami and the Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA), the sponsors, asked the Urban Land Institute to conduct an Advisory Services Panel to provide strategic recommendations on design guidelines, funding opportunities, policy approaches, and an implementation plan to bolster the resilience of Miami’s waterfront, which the city considers its first line of defense against the impacts of sea level rise and climate change.
• Keith, L., McMahan, B., & Wagner, T. (2019, December). Urban heat island maps and decision making. University of Arizona, Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS). http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.35788.49282
  More info

  While urban heat island (UHI) mapping and modeling have become more sophisticated in recent years, there is still an information gap between the UHI maps and models, urban planning and design strategies to decrease heat, and the use of that information in policy decision making. Our study focuses on documenting the current use of UHI maps and models in communities in Arizona and New Mexico and evaluating best practices and opportunities to increase their usability.
• Meadow, A. M., LeRoy, S., Weiss, J. L., & Keith, L. (2019, May). Climate Profile for the Highlands at Dove Mountain. University of Arizona, Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS).
  More info

  The earth’s climate is changing. Global average temperatures have risen 1.8° F since 1901 (Wuebbles et al., 2017). Warming temperatures are driving other environmental changes such as melting glaciers, rising sea levels, changes in precipitation patterns, and increased drought and wildfires. The magnitude of future changes will depend on the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted into our atmosphere. Without significant reductions in GHGs, global average temperatures could rise as much as 9° F over pre-industrial temperatures by the end of this century. Pima County is also experiencing climatic changes that will impact our temperatures, precipitation patterns, ecosystems, and human health and well-being.
• Meadow, A. M., LeRoy, S., Weiss, J. L., Keith, L., Hausam, S., Nasser, E., Petersen, S., Basaraba, A., & Russell, N. (2019, November). Climate Profile for the Pueblo of Laguna. University of Arizona, Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS).
  More info

  The Pueblo of Laguna, a federally recognized tribe, seeks to enhance its resilience to changing climate conditions and extreme weather events and their associated impacts. Through adaptation planning, the Pueblo wishes to reduce the ways that extreme heat, drought, heavy rainfall and other extreme precipitation, extreme winds, and associated events such as flooding, erosion, and wildfire affect the community. The Pueblo is initiating the adaptation planning process with vulnerability assessments. The Pueblo of Laguna contracted with Adaptation International to prepare vulnerability assessments of health and wellness (H&W) and infrastructure and buildings (I&B). Adaptation International contracted with researchers with the Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS) program, based at University of Arizona, to compile this report. The goal of the report is to review and summarize available data on historic, current, and projected climatic changes that are likely to impact the Pueblo of Laguna. The report will be used to inform Adaptation International’s vulnerability assessment of health and wellness (H&W) and infrastructure and building (I&B) and the Pueblo of Laguna’s future planning.
• Keith, L., Acosta, M., Marthakur, A., Payton, N., Shimchik, J., Underdahl, J., Wright, C., Angelone, P., Schoeder, A., & Holk, C. (2018, June). Jacksonville, Florida: Leveraging Transit for Economic Development. Urban Land Institute, Advisory Services. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.12758.80960
  More info

  ULI Advisory Service panel was asked to provide strategic advice and recommendations for the City of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) on the following four key objectives and goals: economic development opportunities, regulatory goals and policy, land use and market-based development, and implementation. These objectives and goals are intended to help envision the revitalization of downtown Jacksonville and the surrounding neighborhoods with the U2C at the center of development, and then to translate these recommendations into public sector investments and identify tools and next steps for their implementation. These were developed after interviews with stakeholders, a site tour, and a briefing by JTA.
• Meadow, A. M., LeRoy, S., Weiss, J. L., & Keith, L. (2018, March). Climate Profile for the City of Flagstaff, Arizona. University of Arizona, Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS). https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.20826.70083
  More info

  The earth’s climate is changing. Global average temperatures have risen 1.8°F since 1901 (Wuebbles et al. 2017). Warming temperatures are driving other environmental changes such as melting glaciers, rising sea levels, changes in precipitation patterns, and increased drought and wildfires. The magnitude of future changes will depend on the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) (particularly carbon dioxide) emitted into our atmosphere. Without significant reductions in GHGs, global average temperatures could rise as much as 9°F over pre-industrial temperatures by the end of this century. Even with drastic reductions in emissions, we could limit the warming to 3.6°F or less (Wuebbles et al. 2017). Coconino County has been experiencing climate changes as well. Average temperatures have been rising, particularly in the last 30 years. The region is likely to see fewer cold days and more hot days in the coming decades. And annual average temperatures could rise even more than the global average – possibly more than 10°F higher than the long-term average in the region.
• Gurol, K., Keith, L., Farthing, S., Henderson, R., Morrison, A., Perez, C. F., Slick, J., Villegas, A., Burgess, K., Angelone, P., & Sheppard, L. (2016, November). El Paso, Texas: Active Transportation System. Urban Land Institute, Advisory Services. http://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.29536.02568
  More info

  The ULI Resilience Advisory Services Panel in El Paso studied how the region’s proposed new Active Transportation System can serve as a model for resilience by taking a holistic approach to environmental planning, land use, open space, housing development strategy and civic engagement. The City of El Paso faces challenges such as flash flooding, drought, water supply shortages, and urban heat island, all in conjunction with the tribulations and opportunities of sharing a significant international border with Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Bi-national trade and travel is a day-to-day reality in El Paso and ingrained in the city’s character. El Paso’s strong identity, cohesive communities, and commitment to planning all bolster its capacity for resilience. The city has also shown its commitment to enhancing local resilience through its participation in the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities program, its investment in a Chief Resilience Officer and its development of a city-wide Resilience Strategy.
• Heid, J., Doyle, M. K., Gabriel, T., Keith, L., Razak, A., Stern, M. A., Willke, L., Marshall, S., Silverman, B., & Angelone, P. (2015, December). St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana: Bridging the Divide with the South Central Study Area through Resilience. Urban Land Institute, Advisory Services. http://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.14017.10084
  More info

  St. Tammany Parish has spent considerable time developing a philosophy on resilience. Many grant opportunities have emerged because of multiple storm-related events that affected both the parish and the larger region. Those grant opportunities as well as other funding have provided the parish with the ability to study extensively its south central area, also known as Lacombe. The parish asked the panel to look at its resilience philosophy and the studies completed to date to begin to connect the dots on how projected growth should occur within the study area.