It was just a little over a month ago that I first put the call out for collaborations for this Urban Heat project.
I was immediately inundated with emails from people worldwide – all working in some way with issues of urban heat and eager to collaborate and participate.
This week alone I welcomed interns / academic placements as well as collaborators representing and based in cities across the world including Brussels (Belgium), Toronto (Canada), Kumasi (Ghana), Patiala (India), Kerala (India), Tehran (Iran), Negeri Sembilan (Malaysia), Leiden (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden), Berkeley (California, USA), Santa Cruz (California, USA) and Buffalo (New York, USA).
I’ve also had check-ins this week with already established network interns & collaborators, including those from or based in Wenzhou (China), Delhi (India) and Cape Town (South Africa).
The map below represents all network participants for the ‘Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab’ so far. The yellow star circles represent collaborators & the turquoise blue represents academic placements and interns.
The map represents all individuals who have joined the ‘Global URBAN HEAT Media Lab’ in the past month- each one whom I have also had the pleasure of having a virtual meeting with.
During some meetings, we also recorded bits of conversations in which participants share their background and interests in issues of urban heat. You can view some of those chats and more info on the project at
When I first put the call out for collaboration a month ago, I had no anticipation whatsoever of the response that was to come. I know the response I received reflects the severity and global nature of the problem.
However, I also reflect that, based on my experiences meeting all the incoming participants thus far, the level of passion, enthusiasm, readiness to learn and exchange knowledge that exists in people working on solutions for this problem is absolutely incredible.
~Annika