State of the Field: Heat Vulnerability, Social Resiliency, and Urban Planning

While urban planners have increasingly incorporated a climate adaptation lens into planning and policy, methods of adaptation tend to be focused on responding to coastal flooding and extreme rain events. Both locally and nationwide, heat waves are the most fatal extreme weather events. Each summer approximately 130 New Yorkers die from heat related causes. By the 2050s, New York will see the number of days above 90F triple. Heat mortality is closely related to issues of poverty, substandard housing quality, systemic inequality, and health. This talk and discussion will explore the concept of heat vulnerability, the role that social resiliency and cohesion can play in improving health outcomes during extreme heat waves, and how urban planners can incorporate heat mitigation into their work.

Daphne Lundi is a Senior Policy Advisor with the NYC Mayor’s Office of Resiliency. Prior to that she was an urban planner at the NYC Department of City Planning focused on climate resilience and neighborhood planning. She has a history of volunteer work serving on several boards focused on inclusive urbanism and youth engagement and is Vice Chair of the APA NY Metro Chapter Diversity Committee.