Smart & Connected Management of Thermal Extremes

A map shows a network of weather stations across Buffalo, which will assess temperature variation in relation to conditions of the built environment.

Assistant professors Zoé Hamstead (urban planning) & Nicholas Rajkovich (architecture) join collaborators from Arizona State University and Temple University to examine different ways in which extreme heat and cold impact U.S. cities.

Smart and connected cities workshop.

Nicholas Rajkovich leads groups discussions on thermal extremes management during a session of the Smart and Connected Communities Buffalo Forum at Hayes Hall. Photo: Douglas Levere, 2018

Extreme temperature events cause greater mortality rates than all other weather-related events, with those in low-income and traditionally marginalized communitis most at risk due to variability in infrastructure and social factors. This national study co-led by UB brings leaders in the energy, health and transportation sectors to assess these risks and develop macro and micro strategies that build urban climate resilience to themal extremes for all residents.  

The Smart & Connected Management of Thermal Extremes project is focused on case studies from two regions known for severe weather extremes: Erie County, NY and Maricopa County, AZ. The two regions are rather different geographically, socially, in terms of building stock, and climatically. Working alongside community partners and local government officials, the project seeks to coordinate responses to extreme weather. 

Workshops in each region will inform researchers about how practitioners in each city manage extreme weather.

Learn more at the Community Resilience Lab

Grant Amount/Duration

$100,000 / 1 year

Funding Agency

National Science Foundation

Collaborators

Community Resilience Lab at UB's School of Architecture and Planning

  • Zoé Hamstead assistant professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning
  • Nicholas Rajkovich,
    director of Resilient Buildings Lab & assistant professor, Department of Architecture

Other Collaborators:

  • Paul Coseo 
    the project’s principal investigator, assistant professor of landscape architecture in Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, and senior sustainability scientist at ASU’s Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability
  • Ariane Middel
    assistant professor of geography and urban studies, Temple University
  • David Hondula
    assistant professor of geographical sciences and urban planning, ASU