University of Louisville
IN-25: Innovation B

The Partnership for a Green City seeks to align the public partners’ sustainability initiatives with the City’s initiatives and plans. One interesting area of continuing collaboration is the Urban Heat Island Youth Summit as part of a research project in which a UofL researcher and the Partnership have provided 32 meteorological stations, strategically placed at 26 JCPS schools and 6 private/parochial schools. The students and teachers access heat island data that is useful in their curriculum, as well as providing practical experience in a specific local problem we face. JCTC GIS professors and students are involved in mapping the data so each school can see the data others schools are collecting. Students are encouraged to seek projects for their schools, like planting trees, measuring impervious pavement around the school, or generating ideas that could mitigate urban heat effects. There is power in working together to solve common issues, and we are grateful for Fern Creek High School’s participation in this study collecting Urban Heat Island data. Our researchers want to remap the urban heat island with actual data and compare it to Dr. Stone’s model in order to more accurately document the challenge and better plan for an appropriate response.