The City of Dallas has joined a new partnership in hopes of bringing new 鈥渃ooling鈥� technology to residents. That鈥檚 according to a press release from the Smart Surfaces Coalition and Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson.
This comes after record high heatwaves nationwide 鈥� with July 4 being the 鈥渉ottest day recorded on Earth,鈥� according to the press release announcing the partnership.
Along with Dallas, New Orleans, Atlanta, Boston and Columbia, South Carolina, have joined the partnership and announced a multiyear project to 鈥渃ool their cities."
鈥淭he coalition is a not-for-profit organization made up of 40 partners,鈥� Smart Surfaces Coalition CEO Greg Kats said in an interview with 四虎影院. 鈥淎ll of these partners share a belief that cities are much hotter than they should be because of the surfaces we put on our cities.鈥�
Other groups participating in the partnership include Habitat for Humanity, the National League of Cities and the American Lung Association.
The group works to help support cities with resources to implement new surface technologies. That includes funding and guidance on where the greatest needs are in Dallas.
Kats says the group will help gather original data to inform policy that could help to protect residents from extreme heat. That work can include anything from mapping city surfaces to collect base-line temperature data, to funding the Graduate School of Public Health at Harvard to help analyze medical data related to heat deaths.
鈥淎nd then we take all that data with the city, and we customize a very powerful online cost-benefit analytic engine,鈥� Kats said.
With the analytics tools, cities can see what impact adding different 鈥渟mart surfaces鈥� will have city-wide. Some of the solutions recommended by the group include reflective roofs, porous pavements that replace groundwater 鈥渨hile reducing flood risk,鈥� and bioretention techniques that should reduce stormwater runoff and system overflow, according to the coalition鈥檚 website.
鈥淎n investment in Smart Surfaces is a win for Dallas Residents,鈥� Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in a statement to 四虎影院. 鈥淟everaging this intelligent and cost-effective technology will cool our neighborhoods during hot Texas summers, reduce residents鈥� energy expenses, and minimize the impact of flash flooding events.鈥�
But one of the biggest hurdles to implementing this new technology, is a lack of cohesion.
鈥淲e, as a nation, have spent billions of dollars in foundation and grant money doing piecemeal solutions,鈥� Kats said. 鈥淭he problem is when you do it in a fragmented way, you don鈥檛 have a coherent solution. You have a little bit of this, a little bit of that.鈥�
Government agencies and municipalities have often resorted to 鈥渓owest first cost鈥� solutions, according to Kats. He says governments can actually save money in the long run by factoring in the adverse impacts of traditional infrastructure.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 just a huge obstacle, that city departments don鈥檛 have the tools and authority to make investments based on broader impact and benefit,鈥� Kats said. 鈥淭his is why leadership from someone like Eric Johnson, the Mayor of Dallas, is so important.鈥�
四虎影院 reached out to Johnson for more details, but he was not available.
Kats says the coalition members believe implementation of different infrastructure will also aid in addressing the long history of racism that has affected where communities of color are located 鈥� and the quality of life they are able to have.
鈥淚f you think about America鈥檚 history on race鈥ower income and minority neighborhoods really suffer from heat,鈥� Kats said. 鈥淭hey will be 15 degrees hotter than they would be otherwise, because of those surfaces.鈥�
Kats says that translates to kids staying indoors rather than playing outside 鈥� and across the city generally people aren鈥檛 out on the street during the summer.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 exciting about this is it鈥檚 an opportunity to reclaim our neighborhoods in the summer,鈥� Kats said. 鈥淎nd address this long-standing structural injustice where lower income, and in particularly minority, neighborhoods are much less pleasant places to live. And in 2023 that should not be the hallmark of a city.鈥�
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter .
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