Conversations Toward Resilience: Urban Heat and Air Quality
Join AIA Seattle's Adaptation and Resilience Committee for a panel discussion on urban heat and air quality in the Puget Sound region. Our panelists will share their latest research, design strategies, and community-based initiatives related to the complexities of equitably addressing urban heat and air quality at a variety of project scales. Audience questions and discussion will follow presentations by each panelist.
EVENT DESCRIPTION
Hotter daily temperatures and extended heat and air quality events impact our Puget Sound region with increasing intensity each year. As climate change’s influence on public health outcomes plays out across our cities, architects, planners and designers continue to seek strategies that can equitably address urban heat and air quality, while acknowledging the tradeoffs and complexities related to built environment solutions. Join AIA Seattle’s Adaptation and Resilience Committee for a panel discussion between Sara Meerow and C. Addison Houston as part of our Conversations Toward Resilience series. Sara, an Associate Professor focused on heat and flood resilience at Arizona State University, and Addison, the Climate Adaptation Lead for King County Public Health, will share their latest research and projects relevant to regional urban heat and air quality, including local initiatives, design-based strategies, and observations around key considerations and tradeoffs when targeting equitable resilience in our built environment.
1 LU/HSW
SPEAKER BIOS:
Sara Meerow is an interdisciplinary social-ecological systems scientist working at the intersection of urban geography and planning. Her research tackles the challenge of how to make cities more resilient in the face of climate change and other social and environmental hazards, while at the same time more sustainable and just. Specifically, she works on conceptualizations of urban resilience, planning for urban resilience in a changing climate (with a focus on flooding and heat), and green infrastructure planning in a range of cities. Meerow emphasizes problem-driven, collaborative research that combines qualitative and quantitative methods with spatial analysis.
C. Addison Houston is the Climate Adaptation Lead for Public Health – Seattle & King County’s Climate & Health Equity Initiative. His work entails assessing pathways of how regional effects of climate change are anticipated to impact public health, and the development of strategies that work to mitigate these impacts, while addressing historic disparities that contribute to the disproportionate impact of climate change on frontline communities. Addison brings a diverse background of expertise to his role. Integrating his education and experience in the fields of city and regional planning, environmental regulation, public health, and emergency management.
