Turning Our Cities Hot and Dry: Irrigation Reduction, Urban Heat Islands, and Equity in the Arid American West

Keywords: urban greenspace; irrigation reduction; urban political ecology; urban planning and design
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Saturday
Session Start / End Time: 2/26/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/26/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 24

Abstract

Unprecedented, prolonged regional drought and reoccurring extreme heat events have pushed water resources of the Colorado River Basin to crisis levels. Yet, a legacy of green cities dots the Basin. Faced with dwindling resources and burgeoning populations, political leaders, natural resource advocates, and environmental planners are grappling with how to reduce water consumption in the face of pressing climate concerns while still providing cool, restorative retreats for heat-strapped urban residents and habitat connections for flora and fauna. Donald Worster wrote in Rivers of Empire “…one cannot have a life both ways—can not maximize wealth and empire and maximize democracy and freedom too” and encourages embracing the desert in order to re-balance life in the arid US (Worster, 1992, 334). Yet, water-conserving landscapes—or “planned aridity”—alter the vegetation and micro-climate of urban greenspaces and may increase the effects of urban heat islands. At a time of reckoning with systemic racism and environmental injustices, embracing the desert also means heeding Worster’s call to center democratic ideals of equity and justice within the process of increasing aridification. Through comparative content analysis of city planning documents, geospatial analysis, and an embedded case study, this research examines priorities within the decision-making process, potential biophysical impacts on microclimates, and the extent to which equity is included in the planning process of cities within the Basin. This paper will build on cities’ capacity to plan for long-term climate adaptation while ensuring it does not lead to negative long-term effects on our most vulnerable communities.