The Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) has awarded its annual $25,000 research grant in honor of Deb Mitchell to the Heat Waves: Visualizing Thermal Disparities project. Principal investigators Salvador Lindquist and Keenan Gibbons will work with the City of Omaha, Nebraska, to test commercially available thermal visualization tools, including unmanned aerial vehicles and forward-looking infrared cameras, to develop a toolkit for landscape planners and policymakers to make better informed decisions in designing more just and equitable landscapes.

 
Salvador Lindquist is an Assistant Professor in the College of Architecture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, while Keenan Gibbons is an Associate at SmithGroup and Lecturer at the University of Michigan, with expertise in the urban heat island effect and FAA-certified drone piloting. The 18-month study will leverage additional grant funding and partnerships with the City of Omaha and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, among others.

The project aims to address the disproportionate effect of extreme heat on underserved populations and develop a multifaceted approach to mitigate the unequal distribution of intense surface temperatures, including nature-based solutions. The study will use commercially available thermal visualization tools to show the positive impacts of nature-based solutions at a more granular level, with the primary output being a toolkit for landscape planners and policymakers.

"This proposal goes beyond the typical mapping of a problem to actually map the value of solutions at a very local scale. Its potential to support environmental justice efforts in Omaha is notable, and it represents a strong partnership between academia and practice, which is the essence of the Deb Mitchell Research Grant," said Signe Nielsen, FASLA, a member of the LAF Board of Directors and Research Committee and Founding Principal of MNLA.

https://www.lafoundation.org/news/2023/04/2023-deb-mitchell-grant-winner