Making the Case for Where to Invest
Case Scenario
A city council for a mid-size city in Arizona has been presented with a proposal for adaptation strategies to reduce the health risks due to future heat waves. These strategies include public communications efforts to direct residents to seek air-conditioned shelter, stay hydrated, and limit their exposure to direct sunlight, as well as investing in future community infrastructure like cooled community centers and added tree coverage. The UAA can be used to determine not only what to focus funds on, but where.
With the UAA, a city councilor can find their city, and access the sub-city mapping. Within these maps, they can select the heat hazard tab, then view a map of their city that shows -- for each census tract within the city -- the percentage of tree canopy coverage, layered with a view of social vulnerabilities such as the percentage of the population that is elderly and living alone.
With this information, a city councilor can determine if their district shows the highest need for adaptation within the city. If it does, they can screen capture the maps and download the data to present to the other city councilors, supporting the case that investment in their district offers the most return in terms of health outcomes, minimizing any political struggle over where in the city to distribute resources.