Business View Civil and Municipal l January 2023

8 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 12 Our work to fight extreme heat began with the appointment of the world’s first chief heat officer, which has now been replicated in municipalities around the globe. We can—and will—protect people from the risks of extreme heat with solutions that also create economic and environmental benefits for our community.” outlined in the plan, with a goal of cooling neighborhoods by shading hot surfaces and removing heat from the environment. In action, the plan calls for equitability, safety, pollution reduction, flexibility and alignment with nature as key guiding principles. In conjunction with the plan, the county is retrofitting “virtually all public housing units” with modern and efficient air conditioning. It’s also expanding the region’s canopy cover from its current percentage of 20% to 30% by 2030. “Our goals with this plan are to collectively inform and protect people, make it easier for our residents to cool their homes affordably and to cool our neighborhoods, especially with trees where we need them most. Now is the time to put ambition into action,” said Jane Gilbert, the county’s chief heat officer. The county will also develop and implement “a network of resilience hubs” with funding from Rebuild Florida and the Arsht-Rock Resilience Center, and in partnership with Resilient305. The network is described in the plan as an “interconnected system of community-serving facilities designed to support residents, educate the public, distribute resources, coordinate communications, and state government services.” The heat action plan, which was launched by the county, Resilient305 partnership and The Miami Foundation this month, was developed with input from a 15-member task force and “more than 300 experts, stakeholders, and residents through a series of public workshops and interviews,” the statement says. “The Extreme Heat Action Plan is a roadmap for protecting our residents, visitors, and economy,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “Our work to fight extreme heat began with the appointment of the world’s first chief heat officer, which has now been replicated in municipalities around the globe. We can—and will—protect people from the risks of extreme heat with solutions that also create economic and environmental benefits for our community.”