Date of Graduation

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Architecture

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Architecture

Advisor/Mentor

Brian Holland

Committee Member

Ken McCown

Second Committee Member

Lily Mank

Abstract

This project approaches urban extreme heat as a complex planning problem and examines the unique actors and strategies addressing it. As extreme heat worsens, communities will be required to build resilience and their adaptive capacity. This paper identifies and explores the actors and strategies currently being employed in New York City to mitigate the effects of urban extreme heat.

This project illuminates current approaches to urban extreme heat in New York City to identify key ways that any community, but especially vulnerable communities, can improve their resilience to the impacts of extreme heat. Vulnerability is defined by a community’s exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity to extreme heat. By identifying key actors, the resources they use, and the strategies they employ, a novel framework can be developed for understanding and addressing the complex problem of urban heat risk in New York City.

This capstone identifies and examines four key resource types and four common strategies employed to mitigate urban extreme heat in New York City. The four resource types are regulation, capital, expertise, and advocacy. The four strategies are increasing access to air conditioning, increasing the urban tree canopy, decreasing impermeable surfaces, and strengthening the social safety net.

This project utilizes literature review and interviews to identify relevant community actors involved with mitigating urban extreme heat in New York City and synthesizes this information into a working framework that can categorize and organize strategies for mitigating urban extreme heat and provide a larger context for individual interventions.

Keywords

urban heat island effect; climate change; extreme heat; planning; climate adaptation; community resilience; public health

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Available for download on Sunday, May 07, 2028

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