Department Seminar: Anamika Shreevastava

Title: Cooling where it counts — Understanding and alleviating urban heat in Los Angeles 

Abstract: Dive into the sizzling world of urban heat with me as I explore how cities like Los Angeles grapple with escalating heat, driven by climate change and further exacerbated by social inequities. Drawing from my research, using high-resolution ECOSTRESS thermal data, we’ll discuss how contemporary income inequality outweighs historic redlining in shaping urban thermal disparities, and pinpoint the neighborhoods— often home to vulnerable Hispanic and African-American communities—most at risk. After intermission, we’ll discuss how to cool a city! More specifically, where should we cool the city? And discover how targeted cooling strategies, like urban greening and street reflective coatings, could slash temperatures by up to 2°C, saving lives and fostering a more resilient and equitable urban future.