Cool the City
Cool the City is a collaborative, city-wide campaign aimed at enhancing health outcomes, fostering community wealth, and bolstering climate resilience in the city of Richmond. Over five years, this effort will invest in greening projects, workforce development, and institutional capacity building to increase equitable access to greenspace in Black and Brown communities across the city, especially in Southside.
Campaign Goals
Mitigate Extreme Heat: Implement measures to reduce the impact of extreme heat events on vulnerable communities.
Reduce Environmental Inequities: Address the disproportionate exposure of marginalized communities to environmental hazards.
Build Community Wealth: Create economic opportunities and resources for residents, particularly in underserved neighborhoods.
Increase Climate Resilience: Enhance the city's ability to adapt to and withstand the effects of climate change.
We aim to educate Richmond residents about climate-resilient solutions that will reduce extreme heat while activating elected officials, businesses, and others to prioritize climate action.
Why “Cool the City”?
Through decades of historic redlining and urban renewal, Richmond has created socio-economic disparities that put Black, Latino and low-income families at greater risk of dying from environmental causes. As climate change accelerates the risks, these inequities threaten the health and life expectancy of Southside residents.
The life expectancy of Southside residents is up to 20 years shorter compared to other areas of the city.
People with low income and low wealth are more likely to live in highly polluted areas, live near industrial zones and highways, and have poor air quality in housing and schools.
The Southside has double the rate of asthma than those living in the more affluent areas of the city—a direct effect of poor housing conditions and pollution.
The Southside is most vulnerable to Urban Heat Islands (UHIs) due to a high percentage of impervious surfaces and little tree canopy cover. Well-canopied areas of the city can be up to 16 degrees cooler than areas that lack adequate tree canopy.
Cool the City is a coalition of four community-based organizations led by Black and Brown leaders and three departments within the City of Richmond, coming together to address the neglect and poor policy that created these inequities. By focusing on climate resiliency and involving residents in the restoration of their own communities, Cool the City is making Richmond a safer, healthier place for everyone to live.
Cool the City Partners
Funding for this project was provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and the USDA Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program. USDA and Southside ReLeaf are equal opportunity providers and employers.
