Overview:

Summary: Many communities do not realize the wide-ranging impacts of extreme heat or options to mitigate their risk. Outreach campaigns can raise awareness about why heat is a priority, how rising temperatures intersect with different social and climate issues, and share existing resources for community members to participate in cooling solutions to protect human health.

Implementation: Create guidelines, toolkits, and handbooks to educate the public on heat risk. Launch awareness campaign on diverse platforms like social media, websites, and media outlets.

Considerations for Use: Public spaces and spaces where vulnerable populations frequent are great locations for events such as schools and senior centers. Program managers should consider barriers to online communication for vulnerable populations and prioritize sharing information in highly visible public places.

• Policy Levers:
  
  
  Awareness and EngagementGovernments may design and operate programs with the goal of increasing awareness and engagement among constituents or stakeholder groups about the risks and opportunities of extreme heat.
• Trigger Points:
  
  
  No-regrets actions (low cost/low effort but substantial benefit)Interventions that are relatively low-cost and low effort (in terms of requisite dependencies) but have substantial environmental and/or social benefits.
• Intervention Type:
  Communications/Outreach
• Sectors:
  Disaster Risk Management  , Education, Informal Settlements, Public Health

Impact:

• Target Beneficiaries:
  Heat-vulnerable communities, Residents
• Phase of Impact:
  Risk reduction and mitigation
• Metrics:
  Number of community members reached

Case Studies:

• Buenos Aires Heatwave campaign for elderly (C40 Urban Cooling)
• Philadelphia's community heat relief plan (C40 Urban Cooling)
• Toronto Beat the Heat Campaign (C40 Urban Cooling)

Implementation:

• Intervention Scale:
  City, State/Province
• Authority and Governance:
  City government, State/provincial government
• Implementation Timeline:
  Short-term (1-2 Years)
• Implementation Stakeholders:
  City government, State/provincial government
• Funding Sources:
  Grants and philanthropy, Public investment
• Capacity to Act:
  High, Low, Medium

Benefits:

• Cost-Benefit:
  Low
• Public Good:
  High
• GHG Reduction:
  N/A
• Co-benefits (Climate/Environmental):
  N/A
• Co-benefits (Social):
  Build community capacity, Build social cohesion, Improve human health