This July, Smart Growth America traveled to Atlanta to support the Partnership for Southern Equity’s (PSE) screenings of the video, “ATL Rising: Building resilience in the face of extreme heat,” which highlights the interactions between extreme heat, the built environment, and health equity in the city. The two video screenings brought together residents, activists, and climate policy leaders to discuss opportunities for action on these issues.
Background
Since 2023, SGA and PSE have been working together to address environmental injustices and health inequities in Atlanta, Georgia. PSE convened a Community Advisory Board (CAB) for residents of southwest Atlanta to gather and discuss top-of-mind climate- and health-related issues. Like many other communities across the U.S., the CAB identified extreme heat as a priority issue. The CAB meetings provided a space for residents to share their experiences with extreme heat, how they want to see it addressed, and brainstorm ways that they can begin combating it in their communities.
The video, “ATL Rising: Building resilience in the face of extreme heat,” which centers around testimonies from Atlanta residents and local climate policy leaders, highlights both ongoing and new strategies, policies, and infrastructure that better equip the city to face the challenges of extreme heat.
In late July, PSE hosted two video screenings, one at the PSE offices and one at the Historic Westside Community Garden, to create a space for community members to discuss these issues, their experiences, and what steps they’re hoping to see taken.
Highlights & takeaways
During the screenings, attendees shared stories about their personal experiences with extreme heat and how it has affected their communities. Following talk of the physical and emotional toll of extreme heat, discussions turned to potential policy and infrastructure solutions.
A recurring theme of the screenings was the apparent need for more available resources for residents to rely on when extreme heat events occur. Attendees mentioned cooling and hydration stations strategically located around Atlanta as a solution that could have an outsized impact; by providing places for people to seek refuge from the heat, cooling stations could improve health outcomes for particularly vulnerable community members. Attendees also proposed locating hydration stations near areas where people tend to be exposed outside for longer periods of time, including at bus stops. Resilience hubs, or spaces that provide materials and education on how residents can boost their household and community resilience to climate change, were also mentioned.
Another topic frequently raised was the need for programs that incorporate resilience efforts to be expanded. Attendees discussed the importance of housing and development that is more prepared for the threats of climate change—including extreme heat—with a particular focus on weatherization programs that help residents make improvements to their homes that boost resilience. Expansions of programs that help residents install clean energy technology, like solar panels, in their homes, or update and improve upon home insulation, would help reduce energy burdens and emissions at the same time.
Finally, institutional resilience to extreme heat and other climate-related threats was also an issue of concern. Attendees want to see healthcare systems that are better equipped to handle an influx of patients dealing with heat-related illnesses, especially those from vulnerable demographics, like the elderly. They also hoped to see resilience incorporated into the K-12 education system, so that children are able to proactively identify strategies to become more resilient in their own lives and in their communities as they grow up.
Getting involved
The video screenings resulted in a handful of Atlanta residents signing up to join the Community Advisory Board, which will continue to meet to advance advocacy efforts. In their August meeting, the CAB established a small working group to research and draft a formal policy recommendation for the City of Atlanta regarding home weatherization. Alongside this, the CAB is focused on raising awareness about energy burden in the community by sharing the ATL Rising video with local neighborhood groups. For more information or to inquire about joining the CAB and their efforts, contact Abigail Cohen at [email protected].