Community Leaders and Public Health Experts Sound Alarm on Urban Heat Islands Threatening Atlanta's Black and Latino Neighborhoods
Urban heat islands in historically underinvested communities expose residents to temperatures up to 10–15 degrees higher than wealthier, greener parts of the city.
Federal cuts to environmental justice and climate resilience grants have delayed or canceled projects intended to deliver lifesaving heat protections to the most vulnerable communities
Atlanta, GA — On May 27, Poder Latinx and the Climate Action Campaign convened community leaders, public health experts, and environmental justice advocates on the steps of Atlanta City Hall to call for urgent action on extreme heat in Black and Latino neighborhoods, communities where decades of underinvestment have created conditions that make dangerous heat far more deadly.
Atlanta's Black and Latino neighborhoods function as urban heat islands, where fewer trees, more pavement, and decades of inequitable development produce temperatures up to 10–15 degrees higher than wealthier, greener parts of the city on the same day. Those temperature gaps translate directly into higher rates of heat exhaustion, cardiovascular stress, respiratory illness, and death — health risks that fall hardest on children, seniors, outdoor workers, and low-income households already facing rising energy costs.
"Extreme heat associated with unmitigated climate change has been accelerated by policies that prioritize clear-cutting of trees without acknowledging the adverse impact of losing that tree cover. That is why it is incumbent upon elected officials, at all levels of government, from city, to county, to state, to federal, be intentional in understanding the importance of preserving the tree canopy, planting new trees, reducing carbon emissions and other pollutants, and supporting environmental justice work and the organizations that are proactively trying to help communities," said State Representative Dr. Jasmine Clark.
"Extreme heat has often been called a silent killer— and that is exactly what it is. In academic terms, extreme heat is defined above all as a public health emergency," said Rodrigo Puentes, MSc, extreme heat and public health researcher at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health.
The crisis has been compounded by federal action. Recent cuts to environmental justice and climate resilience grants have delayed or canceled projects that were designed to deliver tree canopy expansion, flood infrastructure, cooling resources, and energy resilience to the communities most at risk. Speakers at today's event made clear that the burden of federal inaction falls on specific zip codes and specific families.
"People on the margins are the most overlooked and unrepresented in these conversations, while being the most impacted. As my beloved ‘Hotlanta’ gets hotter in the worst way, we must first acknowledge that there is a crisis that can be impacted by human intervention, then create avenues to prepare and protect our most vulnerable citizens from the hazards that come with increased urban heat,” Community Organizer and Activist, Kiya Stanford, stated.
Speakers urged federal officials to reverse cuts to the environmental justice grants that were meant to fund this work. And called on Atlanta's city leadership to advance investments in tree canopy, cooling infrastructure, weatherization, and energy assistance programs.
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About Poder Latinx: Poder Latinx is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering the Latinx community through voter registration, civic education, and leadership development.
About the Climate Action Campaign: The Climate Action Campaign (CAC) is a coalition driving ambitious, durable, equitable federal action to tackle the climate crisis. By cutting carbon pollution and accelerating the transition to clean energy, we will improve public health and create a more resilient economy and a more sustainable future for all.