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About the Initiative

Leading Extreme Heat Research

Extreme heat is one of the greatest challenges posed to humanity and will require rapid advances in science and practice to increase heat resilience and protect health, economies, and the environment globally.

Our Mission

To advance heat resilience through collaborative research, education, and outreach. The initiative’s core research pillars are health and medicine, planning and policy, built and natural environments, and technology and innovation.

Our Vision

A world where all people and ecosystems thrive in the face of extreme heat.

The Arizona Institute for Resilience's Heat Resiliency Initiative advances the university's land grant mission by addressing extreme heat in communities in Arizona and across the U.S. The Initiative also addresses extreme heat globally through existing connections with the Global Heat Health Information Network.

Our focus areas

Planning and governance is our core. Our affiliates extend the work into health, the built environment, and technology.

Core

Planning, Policy, and Governance

The plans, policies, and institutions communities use to manage extreme heat.

With Affiliates

Health and Medicine

Who is most at risk from heat, and how health systems can respond.

With Affiliates

Built and Natural Environments

How streets, buildings, transit stops, and trees shape how hot people get.

With Affiliates

Technology and Innovation

Sensors, wearables, and AI that help communities detect heat risk and act sooner.

The Initiative advances its mission by strengthening heat resilience research, especially aimed at improving science-based policy and governance, by leveraging and collaborating with existing globally-recognized university programs such as those in the Arizona Institute for Resilience, the College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture, the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the College of Agriculture, Life, and Environmental Science, the College of Medicine Phoenix, the College of Science, and the Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. Additionally, the HRI aims to enhance the depth and breadth of heat resilience education offerings at the university and community level. The Initiative's programming will build upon current class offerings and create programs that connect students, faculty, and staff on heat resilience topics and research. Lastly, the Initiative will fulfill its mission by supporting projects that serve Southern Arizona through programs related to community wellness and public health. The Initiative will use its expertise and resources to support multidisciplinary working groups, advisory councils, and public presentations to help communities thrive in the face of extreme heat.

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