Hot! In the City

  • Made By CUP With:
  • Students
  • Tags:
  • Environment,
  • Infrastructure

Students investigate how extreme heat impacts New Yorkers.

At the Myrtle-Wyckoff subway entrance and plaza, students asked community members about their experiences of extreme heat and what changes they’d like to see in their neighborhoods.
During the community survey, students were pleasantly surprised to find that most people they approached were incredibly receptive and open to speaking with them.

On the same day in New York City, surface temperatures can sometimes vary between 20 degrees or more between different neighborhoods. Why are some neighborhoods hotter than others? What is the urban heat island effect? How does it impact us and what can we do about it?

In the spring of 2022, Teaching Artist Alex Cabana collaborated with students from the Academy of Urban Planning and Engineering (AUPE) to take a closer look at extreme heat and the urban heat island effect. To investigate the issue, students talked to community members in Bushwick, interviewed stakeholders working on the issue, and created mixed media art to process the information.

The team gathered what they learned and created this booklet to teach others about the urban heat island effect, the impact of extreme heat on New Yorkers, and what changes we need to make to navigate and survive extreme heat in the city.

Check out more photos of students in action here!

Over Zoom, students interviewed Daphne Lundi and Dr. Luis Ortiz about their backgrounds, experience working towards climate justice, and how students can advocate and organize for change.
Students create mixed media collages of gardens to represent the root causes and consequences of urban heat islands.

"[Compared to a regular classroom] this project was more interactive with society and the outside world. There was also a lot of freedom and creativity involved with what we did."

— Hailey Dejesus, AUPE Student

Check out the Project

The cover and a spread from the project that explains what we can do to combat extreme heat in the city, featuring student drawings and quotes from interviewees Daphne Lundi and Luis Ortiz.

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Project Collaborators

Educational Partner

Academy of Urban Planning and Engineering
Darby Young
Jorge Sandoval
Valerie Vu
Michael Schulman

Teaching Artist

Alex Cabana

Students

Enzi Albert, Stephanie Alvarado, Sara Alvarez, Charly Ascencion, Emely Baez, Angelica Beof, Ocean Cabrera, Sincere Davis, Hailey Dejesus, Emily Frias, Ky-Mani Gobin, Alan Gonzalez, Omar Hernandez, Medina Lekperi, Justeen Minaya, Perfection Okoli, Kevin Perez, Enzo Pichardo, Jazlene Rivera, Xaias Sarasti, Mirahn Seward, Elisha Shabazz, Katelyn Sierra, Vincent Slaughter, Mia Torres, Kymar Waterman, Holiday Woodside

Special Thanks

Daphne Lundi and Luis Ortiz

Product Details

16 pages, 7" x 7"

Funding Support

This project was made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.