Urban Heat + Urban Forestry
Accelerator Resource Library
The 2023-24 Urban Heat + Urban Forestry Accelerator included 5 capacity-building modules in the emerging field of Climate Action as Equity-Centered Community Development.
The Accelerator focused on critical knowledge frameworks, assessment and planning tools, implementation resources, and best-in-field practices from national leaders in the field.
The Accelerator is a joint offering of Center for Regenerative Solutions, Urban Sustainability Directors Network, City of Boulder, and the Vanguard Cities Community Tree Initiative.
Resource Library
Each sequence within the Accelerator guides communities through the development of locally customized urban nature-based climate strategies in specific climate risk + nature-based solution pairings.
Jump to ☞ Module 1 Resources
Jump to ☞ Module 2 Resources
Jump to ☞ Module 3 Resources
Jump to ☞ Module 4 Resources
Jump to ☞ Module 5 Resources
Module 1: Urban Heat Management
Instructors:
Module 1 Resources: Urban Heat Management
Download Module 1 syllabus.
Module 1, Session 1 Recording: Introduction to Heat and Health
Instructor Presentations
Brett KenCairn: Introduction to the Urban Nature-Based Climate Solutions Accelerator
Dr. Stone: Natural Climate Solutions Accelerator Series: Urban Heat Risk
Dr. Shandas: (Un)baking Cities: Critical Concepts & Resources in Mitigating Heat with Urban Forestry
Module 1: Session 1 Resources
Understanding Urban Heat: All measurements are not the same
Global Land Surface Temps and Air Temps (2011): A global comparison between station air temperatures and MODIS land surface temperatures reveals the cooling role of forests
US example (2023): Evaluating Differences between Ground-Based and Satellite-Derived Measurements of Urban Heat: The Role of Land Cover Classes in Portland, Oregon and Washington, D.C.
Methodology for Advancing Heat Assessments: Towards Systematic Prediction of Urban Heat Islands: Grounding Measurements, Assessing Modeling Techniques
Reasons for Differences in Heat
National Study (2020): The Effects of Historical Housing Policies on Resident Exposure to Intra-Urban Heat: A Study of 108 US Urban Areas
Critical Heat Studies (2019): Making Meaning of Heat for Management in the 21st Century
Implications of Heat on Vulnerability Populations
Los Angeles Case: Heat Death Associations with the built environment, social vulnerability and their interactions with rising temperature
Chicago Case: Interview with Eric Klinenberg, author of Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago
Advancing Heat Mitigation Strategies
Overview: Greenery as a mitigation and adaptation strategy to urban heat
Nature Based Solutions Case Study: Nature-Based Designs to Mitigate Urban Heat: The Efficacy of Green Infrastructure Treatments in Portland, Oregon
Urban Heat Management in Louisville, Kentucky: A Framework for Climate Adaptation Planning
Compound Climate and Infrastructure Events: How Electrical Grid Failure Alters Heat Wave Risk
Policy Nook: Heat Waves as Hurricanes: A Comment
Module 1: Session 2 Resources
Module 1: Session 3 Resources
Module 2: Urban Forestry
Instructors:
Instructor Presentations
Dr. Daniel Burcham: Session 1: Urban Forestry Presentation , Session 2: Urban Forestry Presentation
Erica Smith: Philly Tree Plan
Module 2: Session 1 Resources — Key Concepts and Best Practices in Urban Forestry
Historical urban tree canopy cover change in two post-industrial cities (download pdf)
The tree cover and temperature disparity in US urbanized areas: Quantifying the association with income across 5,723 communities (download pdf)
Ecosystem structure and function along urban-rural gradients: An unexploited opportunity for ecology (download pdf)
Fostering complexity thinking in action research for change in social-ecological systems (download pdf)
Linking urban tree cover change and local history in a post-industrial city (download pdf)
Module 2: Session 2 Resources — Urban Tree Canopy Assessment and Planning Tools
Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium National Land Cover Database – Tree Canopy
A versatile, production-oriented approach to high-resolution tree-canopy mapping in urban and suburban landscapes using GEOBIA and data fusion (download pdf)
Assessing the accuracy and potential for improvement of the National Land Cover Database’s tree canopy cover dataset in urban areas of the conterminous United States (download pdf)
Understanding opportunities for urban forest expansion to inform goals: Working toward a virtuous cycle in New York City (download pdf)
United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Imagery Program
Module 2: Session 3 Resources — Managing Urban Forests for Heat Resilience
Spatial configuration and time of day impact the magnitude of urban tree canopy cooling (download pdf)
Effects of urban vegetation on mitigating exposure of vulnerable populations to excessive heat in Cleveland, Ohio (download pdf)
Ecosystem services and urban heat riskscape moderation: Water, green spaces, and social inequality in Phoenix, USA (download pdf)
Small vegetated patches greatly reduce urban surface temperature during a summer heatwave in Adelaide, Australia (download pdf)
Urban heat island-induced increases in evapotranspirative demand (download pdf)
Urban heat island impacts on plant phenology: Intra-urban variability and response to land cover (download pdf)
Scale-dependent interactions between tree canopy cover and impervious surfaces reduce daytime urban heat during summer (download pdf)
Module 3: Equitable Community Engagement
Instructors:
Instructor Presentations
Groundwork USA: Session 1-The Case for Equitable Community Engagement, Session 2 - The Hows And Whys
Module 3: Session 1 Resources — The Case for Community Engagement: Equity in the Planning Process
Mapping Inequality: https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/
Tree Equity Score Tool: https://treeequityscore.org/map/#0/0/0
Vibrant Cities Lab Tool Library: https://www.vibrantcitieslab.com/tool-library/
Module 3: Session 2 Resources
Ladder of Citizen Participation: https://organizingengagement.org/models/ladder-of-citizen-participation/
The Spectrum of Community Engagement to Ownership: https://movementstrategy.org/resources/the-spectrum-of-community-engagement-to-ownership/
Module 4: Equity-Centered Workforce + Economic Development
Instructors:
Instructor Presentations
PowerCorpsPHL: Session 1 - Introduction to Equity-centered Workforce and Economic Development
Green City Force: Session 2 - Equity-centered Workforce Development
Cambium Carbon: Session 2 - Workforce Development & Wood Reuse
Philadelphia Water Department: Session 2 - Apprenticeship Programming
Module 4: Session 1 Resources — Introduction to Equity-Centered Workforce + Economic Development
The Relationship of Historical Redlining with Present-Day Neighborhood Environmental and Health Outcomes: A Scoping Review and Conceptual Model. Carolyn B. Swope, Diana Hernández, and Lara J. Cushing. December 2022.
Department of Commerce and Department of Labor Good Jobs Principles.
A Trauma-Informed Approach to Workforce Development. National Fund for Workforce Solutions.
Fostering Resilience. Kenneth Ginsburg, MD, MS Ed.
Building Back Better and Advancing Equity with Green Jobs. CLASP. November 2021.
Module 4: Session 2 Resources — Case studies in creating equity-centered economic opportunities
Making Water a Career of Choice: A Compendium of Water Workforce Case Studies from Across the Country. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. January 2021, updated September 2022.
Unpacking the Work of Work-based Learning. Ranita Jain & Vivian Vázquez, The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program. February 2021.
Service Years as a Strategy to Develop Talent Pipelines. Service Year Alliance. January 2020.
7 Habits of Highly Effective Workforce Programs (Executive Summary). Third Way. July 2014.
Module 4: Session 3 Resources — Mapping opportunities for local implementation
SWOT Analysis. Community Tool Box. Chapter 3, Section 14.
Landscape Assessment. Quality Planning.
Asset-Based Community Development Toolkit. Asset-Based Community Development
Engaging Diverse Communities for the Long-Term. Groundwork USA & National Park
FDN. Feb. 2021.
Module 5: Essential Policy Frameworks to Support Urban Forestry as Climate Action
Instructors:
Instructor Presentations
Session 1
Zach Wirtz, Chicago Region Trees Initiative: Tree Protection Ordinances
Karen Firehock, Green Infrastructure Center: Going Above and Beyond on Urban Forestry Policy
Sara Meerow, Arizona State University: Urban Heat, Policy, & Planning
Session 2
Earl Eutsler, District of Columbia State Forester: Tree Canopy Preservation In Washington, DC
Patti Bakker, Seattle Urban Forestry Policy Advisor : Seattle Urban Forestry Policy Updates
Module 5: Session 1 Resources — The Elements of Effective Policy and Planning
Making Your Community Forest-Friendly: A Worksheet for Review of Municipal Codes and
Ordinances (by the Center for Watershed Protection)
Planner’s Forest Toolkit: A guide for South Carolina’s Towns, Cities and Counties (by the Green
Infrastructure Center)
Module 5: Session 2 Resources — Workshopping Your City’s Plan for Updating Policy and Plans
Forthcoming.