As part of the Pedestrian Space Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab in development we are recording our conversations with incoming collaborators around the world as well as students interested in pursuing academic internships related to the project.
As part of that, we met with Julia Reich, an incoming master’s student at Columbia Climate School, where she will focus on climate adaptation and mitigation measures, such as public transportation implementation.
For the Pedestrian Space Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab project she is looking into intersecting issues of urban heat such as:
- Analysis of urban heat through a public transportation lens (how transit systems can shape vulnerability to extreme heat, recognizing that users are often exposed to high temperatures longer, while walking, biking, or waiting outdoors)
- Inclusion of environmental justice (EJ) elements (understanding that those in EJ communities are more likely to depend on public transit and therefore are more exposed)
- Analysis of what infrastructure can help reduce the harms of extreme heat– tree canopy on sidewalks, shaded bus stops, or AC in the subway
- Analysis of previous NYC/NYS policy on reducing extreme heat and what the barriers have been. What is the Mamdani Administration doing differently?
- Completing a qualitative interview study or auto-ethnography of heat in the UWS vs Morningside Heights/Harlem.
View more about the Pedestrian Space Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab project and network below.