CHILDREN-CENTERED COOLING NETWORK
Kennedy Community, Stockton, CA
2024-2025 MIG AWARD
Early exposure to temperature extremes has profound and lasting effects on children’s health, particularly during critical phases of brain development. Research shows that children of color are disproportionately vulnerable to the adverse outcomes of rising temperatures and extreme heat events. My thesis project highlights the critical need for targeted public health measures and design interventions to mitigate the impacts of summer heat on children’s health, particularly in low-socioeconomic-status neighborhoods where vulnerabilities are most pronounced.
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The study centers on the Kennedy community in Stockton, California, an underserved and unincorporated neighborhood in the city’s southern region. Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, the project seeks to develop heat mitigation strategies specifically tailored to safeguard children in disadvantaged communities. These strategies aim to be both scalable and transferable, offering solutions that can be adapted for similar regions worldwide.
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URBAN HEAT VULNERABILITY STUDY IN STOCKTON
HEAT AND INEQUALITY: UNDERSTANDING VULNERABILITY IN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES
HEAT AND INEQUALITY: UNDERSTANDING VULNERABILITY IN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES
GROWING UP IN THE HEAT:
CHILDREN’S VULNERABILITY IN KENNEDY
By overlaying summer land surface temperature data with survey results based on field trip observations, we highlight that key public facilities—such as schools, community centers, and churches—as well as major routes that children take between home and school, are located within extremely hot zones. This illustrates that children in the Kennedy community experience high heat exposure in their daily lives.
CHILDREN-CENTERED COOLING NETWORK GUIDELINE
CHILDREN-CENTERED COOLING TOOLKITS
COOL NEIGHBORHOODS FOR CHILDREN
TESTING THE VISION
PROTOTYPE COOLING SITES IN KENNEDY
PROTOTYPE COOLING SITE 1
PROTOTYPE COOLING SITE 1
PROTOTYPE COOLING SITE 1
PROTOTYPE COOLING SITE 1
PROTOTYPE COOLING SITE 2
PROTOTYPE COOLING SITE 2
PROTOTYPE COOLING SITE 2
PROTOTYPE COOLING SITE 2
