Towards the Integration of Extreme Heat Planning Responses in Latin American Cities

The intensification and frequency of heat waves in recent years have been “silently” claiming more lives than any other climate phenomenon. Governments in different cities around the world are increasingly integrating adaptation actions to cope with climate impacts. Still, the speed and pace of adopting these plans and actions vary greatly. Although extreme heat is a growing concern for cities, the science-policy interface in how information is used in policymaking remains unclear. Academic studies tend to focus on Urban Heat Island mapping and measurement, while only an emerging body of literature focuses on extreme heat planning and governance processes in an urban context. A range of authors from the fields of public health, meteorology, urban planning, and the built environment conclude articles with a call to rethink forms of city production and to integrate public policies that would foster cross-governmental and interdisciplinary collaboration in extreme heat planning processes. However, there are challenges to achieving the permeability of global and national climate policies, particularly in cities of the global south, where there are complex barriers to implementing climate adaptation actions. Based on a literature review on local-level climate change adaptation frameworks in the global south, heat governance, and heat action planning, this study explores extreme heat planning processes as emerging pathways of socio-ecological change. Drawing on case studies from two of the largest Latin American cities, Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City, the study looks into the role of these cities in heat governance and the strategies and institutional frameworks that support and/or hinder heat resilience action planning. The outcomes from this research seek to facilitate the science-policy transition by identifying several avenues for intersectoral and multiscalar approaches to heat action planning in a Latin American context.