From high schoolers measuring heat and presenting their findings on the national stage to churchgoers discussing Bible based responses to urban heat; from murals to park designs; from strengthening local organizations to planting trees – the HOPE for Heat Resilience team has been busy throughout Northwest Roanoke for the past year. This project, funded by the National Science Foundation, brought positive attention to our city as the leaders sought to implement “The Roanoke Method” – a trauma-informed, grassroots way of engaging the community in solving problems and creating plans.
The HOPE for Heat Resilience project sought to respond to a problem that Roanoke shares with other cities, the Urban Heat Island Effect. Due to a larger concentration of concrete and lower levels of cooling vegetation, cities tend to be significantly hotter than the surrounding countryside. On hot days, this poses problems for those who are vulnerable: elders, children, medically fragile persons, those without air conditioning, and those who work outside. The most vulnerable neighborhoods in Roanoke generally correspond with those seeing higher concentrations of poverty and crime.
Researchers from Virginia Tech and Roanoke College, in partnership with local leaders, worked with local organizations such as the HOPE Center, Goodwill, and the West End Center. The project included a team of eight high school students with ties to the Northwest neighborhood who became leaders in planning and advocacy locally, and who presented at national-level events with other NSF grant recipients.
The public is invited to a poster display that summarizes many of the project’s impacts on the Northwest neighborhoods of Roanoke. A special opening event, featuring project leaders who will discuss their experiences, will occur at the Melrose Library on Wednesday, October 23rd, from 5:30-7:00 pm. Refreshments will be served; all are welcome. The display will persist at the Melrose Library until November 4, when the exhibit will be moved to the Roanoke Municipal Building.
For more information visit: www.heat2hope.or